


The Yakuza 13's Boys

by Omness, yamarik



Series: Yakuza 13 and Their Family [3]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Family, Fluff, Humor, Light Drama, Occasional angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-08-11 10:53:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 111,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16474202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Omness/pseuds/Omness, https://archiveofourown.org/users/yamarik/pseuds/yamarik
Summary: Twins Sora and Vanitas are growing up fast. They're still more than their 14 gangster parents can handle though.





	1. Skater Boys: Age - 11

**Author's Note:**

> If you are only just delving into this series, it's not necessary to read parts 1 and 2 of this series, but we recommend it all the same because there's lots of cute baby and small child chaos and do you really want to miss that?  
> If you've been reading from the beginning, welcome to the third and final part!  
> Either way, thanks for reading, and enjoy.

The back door slammed open, revealing the same shiny faces on two different heads. The only difference between Sora and Vanitas was the color of their eyes, which were glistening with excitement. 

Gene straightened up from where he’d been waxing his surfboard in his backyard, smiling slightly at the boys from across the street. He’d grown rather fond of them, and the household they came from. From the day they’d moved in, Gene had known the “parents” were gangsters- something about the mini arsenal he’d seen being moved into the house had given that away- but they were people too, and over the course of the last few years, Gene had gotten plenty of proof of that, thanks to these boys. 

The incredible part, to Gene at least, was how unpredictable those parents were. And not in the way one might expect of a bunch of gang leaders. No, what Gene found unpredictable was their parenting. One moment they’d have you rather impressed as they handled bad behavior or those difficult questions that kids always ask, but the next they’d be showing the boys how to build a campfire or letting them watch R-rated movies or at a complete loss over a simple head cold. You could never be certain what might happen to those boys with them, which was one of the many reasons Gene had issued them a blanket invitation to “come on over anytime. No need to knock even, just come right on in.” Of course this had lead to a flurry of checks into his background and more than one of those parents “dropping by” or “borrowing a cup of sugar” and somehow ending up checking out every nook and cranny in his house. But Gene had passed muster, and so the boys came and went as they pleased. 

“What is it boyos?” he asked. 

“Papagotusskateboards!” Sora said. Vanitas nodded along and bounced on the balls of his feet, letting Sora do the talking but clearly barely able to contain himself enough to do so. It took Gene a moment to decipher the boy’s words. 

“Oh, Roxas made good on that promise then?” he asked. A few months previously, one of Gene’s neighbors, Ling, had gotten a skateboard, and he and his housemates had all entertained the block with their attempts to teach themselves how to skateboard. The twins had been fascinated, and had even been allowed a few attempts themselves, but that was the end of it. Or at least, it was until Yao had carelessly left the skateboard outside, and when Roxas came to ask Gene for some grilling advice, the two of them had gotten to talking about their own skateboarding skills, which of course led to demonstrations. Later on, Roxas had informed Gene that the twins had been watching from a window, and had been very impressed and wanted to learn. As a result Roxas had been coerced into teaching them, but the twins had decided that Gene was also going to learn them a thing or two. 

“Yeah! We’re going to be the bestest skateboarders that ever was!” Sora exclaimed. 

“Ever were,” Vanitas corrected. Sora stuck his tongue out at Vanitas, who replied in kind. 

“Boys, stop that, or I won’t give you your first lesson,” Gene said. The boys looked sighed, and their tongues receded back into their mouths at once. 

“I’m sorry,” the boys apologized to each other, their syllables matching exactly, so it was only possible to tell they were both speaking based on the fact that Sora’s voice was a little more sullen. 

“Alright. Let me finish up here and I’ll be out in a bit so go get ready.” 

The boys whooped and raced off around the side of the house. As Gene cleaned up, he wondered if he should check in with whichever parents were over today to make sure that it was alright for him to teach the boys. Skinned knees were almost inevitable, and some of the parents took even the slightest papercut on the boys as a personal insult. Not only that, but Gene wouldn’t be surprised if that Xemnas fellow didn’t approve. He was the type who didn’t care much for children unless they were asleep. But even he made exceptions to his rules if it was for the sake of those boys, and so if they enjoyed themselves that might make him accept their new hobby. 

When Gene finally got to the street, he found Xaldin trying to convince Vanitas to wear a helmet, and Demyx was standing by with Ling, talking about the best way to film the lesson. 

“But Pop! I’m already wearing the knee pads and elbow pads!” Vanitas was protesting. 

“Very good,” Xaldin said. “But if you fall and hit your head, knee pads and elbow pads won’t do anything about it. You’ll wish you’d worn a helmet then.” 

“No I won’t.” 

“Yeah, but hitting your head makes you dumber because some of the smart leaks out,” Yao said, coming over to join the spectaters. 

“No it doesn’t,” Vanitas snapped, but he did look a little nervous. 

“Yeah, so if you don’t wear a helmet, your brother’s gonna end up smarter than you,” Yao sneered. Vanitas grabbed the helmet from Xaldin and jammed it onto his head, fuming as he fumbled with the straps. 

“I don’t see why you don’t like wearing the helmet and pads,” Sora told his brother. “With these on we look like spacemen. We can skateboard all the way to Mars!” 

Vanitas rolled his eyes but did not point out that Sora’s suggestion was impossible. Instead he peered at his brother, trying to imagine that they were spacemen. If it kept Sora from feeling like a dork, maybe it would do the same for him. But instead it just made him feel dorkier. 

"Alright, camera's on and running," Ling announced from his vantage point. 

“Sora, Vanitas, wave for the camera!” Demyx called out. Sora immediately obeyed, grabbing onto Vanitas a giving a wide-open toothy smile. Vanitas shuffled awkwardly, partly because of Sora’s weight and partly because he was camera shy. 

“Alright, safety first,” Gene said, and tried not to groan as Ling swung the camera his way. Both twins did actually groan, as they didn’t want to hear a lecture on safety. Luckily Xaldin, feeling merciful, stepped in. 

“I already talked to them about that,” he said. 

“Oh, great. Thanks. Saves some time. Now if everyone’s seatbelts are fastened, then let’s get rolling,” Gene said, causing Demyx to laugh much more than the joke merited. Gene saw Yao roll his eyes. 

He spent a minute or so showing the boys the basics: propelling themselves into motion and turning. For now, he told them to jump off to stop. Once the boys assured him they had it, he let them get started. 

Gene wasn’t expecting a whole lot. Sora in particular was all heart but not so much coordination. He would probably not manage to get any speed at all, and turning would be slow and painful and- oh lord. Sora was already three doors down and making a smooth U-turn to come back to them. As Gene stared slack-jawed after him, wondering how, he heard a frustrated noise and saw Vanitas struggling in exactly the way he’d expected Sora to. Vanitas looked after his twin and scowled, biting his lip as he tried even harder to get the board to do what he wanted so that he wouldn’t be outdone by his twin. Sora didn’t make things any better when he came back and started skateboarding in circles around Vanitas. 

* * *

Over the next few weeks, Sora proved to be a natural at skateboarding. He and Roxas were soon making trips to the skate park for him to learn tricks. Vanitas, meanwhile, continued to doggedly struggle under Gene’s tutelage. He could be seen every day after school, moving back and forth on the street in front of his house, trying to smooth out his motions. Gene helped where he could, as did the parents, though aside from Roxas none of them had a clue how to skateboard. 

It was clear that part of Vanitas’s frustration stemmed from the fact that he wasn’t used to Sora being better at things than him. Sora wasn’t gloating about his skills, but he was so used to not being bothered by the status quo that it didn’t occur to him that Vanitas might be frustrated by its reversal, and didn’t hesitate to eagerly tell his brother about the things he learned when Roxas took him to the skate park. 

What no one knew at first was that Vanitas’s resentment was growing, and would soon become an issue. They learned otherwise, though, when Xigbar caught Vanitas trying to make a voodoo doll. 

“Someone you don’t like at school?” he asked, and Vanitas, who hadn’t noticed him approach, jumped. He looked guilty for a moment, then sighed. 

“I don’t like Sora anymore,” he said bluntly. Xigbar couldn’t keep the shock off his face at this statement. He was trained to expect anything and everything, but the idea of the twins disliking each other was so ludicrous that he always dismissed it, since it was simply impossible. 

“Oh, what’s he done?” 

“He doesn’t even care about me. All he cares about is stupid skateboarding.” 

“I see. Well, hate to break it to you, but that voodoo doll won’t work. See, voodoo dolls are pretty dumb, and so when there’s people who look similar, like you and Sora, they can’t decide on who they’re supposed to go after, and so they just give up.” 

“Then I’ll make the eyes real big.” 

“But then it won’t look like either of you, since your eyes are normal sized.” 

“Ugh. Fine.” Vanitas rolled his eyes to make it clear he didn’t actually believe Xigbar, but he put the doll down, then burst out with “It’s not fair! I wanna go to the skatepark with Papa too, but I’m not good enough. Everyone always likes Sora better, and that’s fine because Sora likes them better too, but I thought it wasn’t that way with you guys, only now he’s so cool ‘cuz he can skateboard and you guys don’t care about me and I don’t like it. But I still like you. Just not Sora because it’s all his fault!” 

“That’s a lot of anger you’ve got there. But we do still care about you. No more and no less than we care about Sora. And there’s plenty of times we give you more attention than him.” Xigbar was thinking mostly about the attention needed whenever Vanitas wet the bed in earlier years, but he chose not to say this. 

“Whatever.” 

Xigbar let Vanitas be. He may be angry now, but he’d get over it. It wasn’t like he and Sora never fought; they did. All the time. And then without warning they’d make up and be best friends again like nothing had ever happened, and go back to being inseparable. That was just the way they were. 

* * *

This time though, the way they were was the way they weren’t. After about a week of Vanitas being sullen, Sora finally got mad at the way his brother kept ignoring him and avoiding him, and started doing it right back at him. By the end of the second week of Vanitas’s sulking, the two could not be in the same room together, as made evident one night at dinner by the way Vanitas used his spoon to launch his mashed potatoes at Sora, who retaliated by grabbing the plate of dinner rolls and lobbing them back at his brother. Unfortunately, they were dining with Luxord and Zexion; the latter of whom was reading at the table and merely moved his book so as to shield himself from any poorly aimed projectiles, while the former sat and asked the air what was with the twins and why were they behaving this way. As such, the situation was still the same when Vexen and Marluxia came to relieve them, and it left Marluxia in such a dumbfounded state of shock that both Luxord and Zexion managed to slip away while Vexen was searching for his smelling salts. 

The food fight alone might not have been overwhelmingly alarming, but it was soon followed by fist fights, and before the parents knew it, Sora had kicked Vanitas out of their room. Vanitas responded by building a fort out of the cushions from the many couches in the basement and holing himself up in there. It was an impressive fort, and a functional one, as Vanitas refused to leave it, refused to let anyone into it, and refused to let anyone dismantle it. Not surprisingly, tempers frayed fast when the parents discovered they were expected to deliver food to him. 

“The little monster!” Larxene exclaimed after retrieving his dirty dishes. “Why are we putting up with this bullshit?” 

“Larxene, you can’t swear in the house, remember?” Lexaeus reminded her. 

“First off, the twins know better by now, and second, I will swear all I want to if that brat continues to expect to be treated like royalty! Even Marluxia at his snootiest isn’t this bad!” 

“Well if you don’t like it, then perhaps you can come up with a way for them to make up. Lord knows the rest of us have all tried.” 

“Oh really? Like what? Saying ‘please make up with your brother or no desserts for a week’? They could use a few less desserts! You bribe them with desserts all the time and they’re gonna get fat from it!” 

“You’re just being cantankerous because of your diet. I told you, you’re not fat.” 

“I can’t fit a size 2 anymore!” 

“You were underweight when you could fit that. That’s not healthy.” 

“You know what else isn’t healthy? The way these brats are fighting and raising my blood pressure!” 

“Look, hon, we’ve tried to help them. Xigbar said it was because Vanitas doesn’t like how Sora is getting so good at skateboarding. Roxas offered to stop taking Sora out and give Vanitas personal lessons until he catches up, but Vanny refused. He said skateboarding is stupid. We offered to teach him something else, but he doesn’t want to. We even got Terra to offer to teach him to play football, and you know how that boy’s been recently. And Aqua tried to get him interested in baton twirling, and even Ventus was going to come over to teach him some secret moves in a video game, but he turned them all down. He just won’t make peace this time, and we don’t know how to fix this thing.” 

Larxene muttered something under her breath. It wasn’t so quiet that Lexaeus didn’t hear though. 

“No, dear. You may not beat the pulp out of him. That would be child abuse, and I would report you myself and Eraqus wouldn’t defend you. Not to mention that the others would all beat the pulp out of you in return.” 

“Maybe if they had a common enemy. Someone they had to work together against. Maybe we could get that punk that was bullying them to try it again.” 

“We scared him too badly for that. Besides, he’s their friend now.” 

“Well if he’s going to end up being as much of a problem as Terra, it might be better to just shoot him now before Xemnas gets pissed.” 

“According to Xigbar, the superior is worried, and he can’t be pissed and worried at the same time so that won’t happen.” 

“Comforting, but it still leaves us with the problem of Vanitas.” 

“Sora’s being just as much of a problem here. We can’t just calm one of them down. They need to both surrender, or this never ends.” 

* * *

The truce finally came when Xemnas called a formal meeting between himself, Eraqus, and the twins. If Xemnas was the one demanding a ceasefire, the boys would comply, as even Vanitas thought twice about going against that particular parent. With the help of Eraqus, they negotiated a contract between the two boys: one of them would move into the spare bedroom, Sora would refrain from skateboarding at all until Vanitas got the hang of it, Vanitas would stop calling Sora names, and both of them would write sincere apology letters that were no shorter than a page. It took the boys a week each to write their apologies, and even then they were forced to re-write them. 

For the next month or so, the parents resigned themselves to the fact that their boys would forever more maintain rather cool attitudes towards each other. It distressed them to see their beloved boys behave towards each other this way, but what could they do? These things sometimes happened. 

It was Roxas who started the mess, and it was Roxas who got to see the end of it, as one morning he was woken by a strange sound. He went to investigate and found Sora standing outside the house, holding a camcorder and cheering “See if you can do a flip this time, Van!” 

Roxas looked up to see Vanitas standing on the roof, skateboard at his feet. Thankfully Vanitas was wearing all his safety gear, but Roxas still felt his heart sink. While a fall from that height wouldn’t kill you unless things went really wrong, he knew firsthand what kind of results one could get. 

“Vanitas! Stop! Get down from there!” he shrieked, but Vanitas was already placing that second foot on the board and coasting down towards the edge of the roof. Roxas raced over, knowing that it was futile and actually a bit dangerous, but he didn’t want his son getting hurt. 

Across the street, Gene was sipping his morning cup of chai when he heard the commotion. He looked out the window to see Vanitas jump with his board, and almost as if in slow-motion, the boy leaned forward and pulled off a front flip. He could just hear the boy’s “Aawwwwwww yeeeeeeaaaah!” before he hit the ground. Vanitas almost had a smooth landing, but he was leaning too far back to stop the momentum of the flip, and the board went forward while he didn’t. He stuck and arm out to brace himself, and then time seemed to catch up suddenly because both Gene and Roxas blinked and Vanitas was crumpled on the ground, even paler than usual and trying not to cry but with tears escaping his eyes. 

Between personal experience and dating Xion, Roxas knew what had happened. When Vanitas had reached back to catch himself, the force of the impact had broken the boy’s arm. It was something Roxas had done before, and something Xion had seen plenty of times in the dojo. 

“Sora, go get my phone,” Roxas commanded, and for a second he wasn’t their Papa, shy and a little goofy and someone you listened to because you couldn’t help but love him- he was the leader of the thirteenth squad of an infamous gang, someone who was tough and disciplined and gave orders and was obeyed immediately because time was of the essence. As Sora obeyed, he stooped next to Vanitas, who tried to smile but instead his face puckered oddly as the tears stubbornly continued. 

“Vanitas, I thought we taught you how to fall,” Roxas said calmly, as if Vanitas had merely had the wind knocked out of him and Roxas wasn’t internally panicking. 

Vanitas nodded, and sniffed. He tried to reach up to wipe his nose and shuddered with pain. 

“You’re supposed to slap the ground at 45 degree angles, remember?” Roxas continued, trying to pretend to himself that he was helping out at Xion’s family’s dojo. 

“Papa, did you see it?” Vanitas asked. “Did you see me flip? Pretty cool huh?” 

“Yes, Vanitas. I saw it. It was cool, but don’t you ever do that again,” Roxas said as Sora came running up. He accepted the phone and searched through his contacts to call Vexen. As the phone rang, Roxas could already tell that this was going to be the highlight of Vanitas’s year, that he would love his cast, and that he was going to spend months telling all his friends and everyone he met everything about it.


	2. Fantasy Friends: Age - 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: implied/referenced child abuse (this chapter is related to the final chapters of part 2 of this series), panic attack(?)

Ventus was fine. Really. He was. Completely and totally fine. Except that he wasn’t. 

It was hard to be around anyone when he felt this broken. It hurt. The friends he’d had before had become people he no longer knew how to talk to. They wanted to play, play, and play some more, and he tried to keep up, really he did, but their games felt so fragile to him, and every now and then they would inadvertently say something or do something or suggest a game that reminded him too much of those few weeks with Uncle Xehanort. 

Then there was his family. The “aunts” and “uncles” who had always been nice to him and were exponentially more nice now as if they were trying to apologize for what had happened to him. Some days it made him want to cry because it wasn’t their fault, and other days he wanted to scream that they had damn well better be sorry because it really was their fault and how dare they betray him. There was Vanitas, who wasn’t particularly nice because he simply didn’t do nice, but he tried to look out for Ven in his own way, and that was frustrating too. Didn’t his “cousin” know he wasn’t made of glass? And Sora. Goddamn Sora. He acted no differently than before, even though he knew Ven had been through Hell, and yet he acted like nothing had changed, and how dare he? 

Ventus hadn’t been one to swear before. He still didn’t, at least out loud, but sometimes he had such angry thoughts. 

But worst of all were his siblings and his dad. He could see they were trying. They were trying so hard to help him, to support him, to understand him, but it destroyed him every time. He wouldn’t be the Ven they’d known before. It wasn’t like they could find some sort of emotional superglue and put him back together, good as new except maybe a slight crack that you could only see from the right angle. And he didn’t want to be understood. If they understood, then... 

Sometimes, when he’d been in that awful place, Uncle Xehanort had offered to go get Terra and Aqua and bring them there so they could all live together. Not that anyone could truly live with Uncle Xehanort around. Ven was only 11 and he already could tell that Uncle Xehanort sucked the life out of those around him. The idea of that happening to his beloved siblings made him sick. In the worst of his nightmares, Uncle Xehanort made good on that threat, and while Ven could keep himself from screaming himself awake he’d learned to keep a bucket by his bed for when the dreams made him throw up. 

Everything was different since that time. It had been almost a year, but Ventus still hadn’t gotten used to it all. Dad seemed to be burdened down by the weight of the world. He’d always carried that weight, but before he had borne it dutifully and now he bore it painfully. Terra was still moody, but in a different way. Before, his moods had been disdainful, but now they were just bleak. Terra blamed himself, he blamed their aunts and uncles, he blamed dad for leaving, he blamed the world itself for allowing it to happen, he blamed no one and simply despaired. Aqua suddenly got along with their aunts and uncles better, and although she didn’t go out of her way to talk to them, he knew she’d been borrowing psychology books from Uncles Saix and Roxas and Zexion in hopes of finding some way to help Ven. Which was how this situation had come up. 

Dad had allowed Ven to lie down in the backseat, even though it wasn’t really legal or safe but he had two of the seat belts crossing his body so Eraqus was willing to humor his youngest. Aqua sat up front, and even though Ventus had closed his eyes he could hear the rustle every time she turned to look worriedly at him, and could feel her gaze trying to see out some sort of wound to fix. Ven supposed she’d be a good doctor someday, if she was this dedicated to finding the problems and healing them. But for now it was just increasing his misery. Couldn’t they just leave him alone? 

The car slowed, turned, and moved forward slowly before turning again and parking. They’d arrived. Part of Ven was curious. This was his first time coming to the place where his sister had stayed while he was with Uncle Xehanort. Aqua tried not to talk about it much around him because she worried about how he’d react, but he’d gathered that she’d liked it here. 

He heard Aqua and Dad get out of the car, and then the door closest to his head opened. 

“Ven, come on. Please?” Aqua said. Ven didn’t want to get out of the car. He wanted to get out of the car. He couldn’t make up his mind. It was always like that now, where everything he wanted to do was also what he wanted least to do. He felt Aqua undo the seat belt on that side of the car, and with a sigh he sat up. He undid the other belt and slid across the seat to get out. 

“I’ll take you two in but I need to get back to work after,” Dad said. 

“I’ll see if Paine can give us a ride back,” Aqua said. “If not I’ll call the twins’ house, so either way, we’ll get home. Just don’t forget to pick Terra up from practice.” 

“I won’t.” 

Aqua took Ven’s hand and they followed Dad through a dingy door into a dim hallway. They made their way to a door and Dad knocked. 

“Cid? You in?” he called. 

Farther down the hall, a head poked through a door. The head’s eyes lit up, and it’s mouth grinned, and then a body followed the head so there was an entire person skipping down the hall towards them. 

“Aqua! Fancy seeing you here!” she giggled. “Hi Mr. Eraqus. Cid’s not here. Uncle Auron came and took him out on a date.” 

“I see,” Dad said. “Well tell him I said hi will you?” 

“Aw, you’re leaving?” 

“I have work, unfortunately. Have fun you two.” Dad gave them each a hug and then he was gone, and Ventus felt that squeeze of nerves that came every time someone in his family went out of sight. 

“Bye bye!” The girl waved, then turned to them. Ven tried not to flinch. “So, who’s this? As if I need to ask. He’s gotta be your brother. You two totally have the same face.” 

“This is Ventus,” Aqua said. “Ven, this is Yuffie.” 

Ven stared at the floor. He didn’t want to be here. He wanted to hurry up and meet everyone his sister didn’t talk about. He wanted to leave. He wanted to stay and let the warmth he could feel in this place wrap around him. 

“Nice to meet you, Ven,” Yuffie said, grabbing his hand and shaking it. “I hope you don’t mind me calling you Ven, but Aqua said you prefer to be called that once so I figured it’s okay. You don’t mind, do you? No? Great! Everyone’s in the kitchen because Ms. Yuna brought some pumpkin cookies from that bakery she sometimes goes to. Follow me!” 

“In a minute,” Aqua said. “I ought to warn Ven what to expect so he doesn’t get overwhelmed.” 

“Okeydoke!” 

As soon as Yuffie was gone, Aqua knelt. “The cookies were made by Uncle Lexaeus, but don’t tell them that, okay? They only know him as one of the Yakuza 13, and so they might have a hard time with the idea of him baking.” 

Ven nodded, trying not to notice the lines of worry in his sister’s face. 

“Anyway, I was just planning to introduce you to Seifer and Rai and Fuu and Vivi today, so why don’t I go get them and the five of you can hang out. If everyone’s in the kitchen it’ll be crowded so-” 

“I’ll come with you,” Ven said. He’d spoken so little this past year that his voice sounded strange to him. It wasn’t like he could remember. 

“Are you sure?” Aqua asked, clearly concerned. Ven nodded. Did she really think he was so pathetic he couldn’t even stand a few new people? 

Aqua led the way to the room where Yuffie had vanished, and Ven instantly regretted this decision. There weren’t that many people, but at the same time it felt like so many people, and from the moment they entered they were the center of attention. He heard people greeting his sister. He heard himself getting introduced. He smelled pumpkin cookies, and people scents and just a hint of cleaning fluid like Uncle Xehanort used to use after- no, he needed to pull himself together, but the lights were the same as in the basement at that house, and it was the same, wasn’t it? And that hand on his shoulder was Uncle Xehanort’s wasn’t it? He knew it was. He had to leave! He had to run! He had to protect Terra and Aqua and Dad! And he had to warn their aunts and uncles that Uncle Xehanort might hurt Sora and Vanitas! And- 

And he had to faint. 

* * *

Ven woke to a horrific smell that left him coughing and gagging. As he sputtered for air, he heard his sister’s voice saying “Thanks Aerith,” and a door closing, and then an arm pulled him close while a hand patted him on the back. 

“What was that?” he wheezed. 

“Smelling salts. I’m really sorry Ven. Are you okay?” Ven nodded, and tried not to turn crimson with humiliation from the way he’d fainted. Not that he wasn’t already crimson as a result of his coughing. And crimson with rage at the way his sister was so carefully not saying “I told you so”. 

“So like, why’d he faint?” asked a voice. 

“Rai, shut up. It’s probably like that time Zack fainted when that crow got inside,” snapped another voice. 

“So, what, he’s scared of kitchens?” 

“Scary to meet new people,” whispered a very small voice. 

“Uncomfortable,” a fourth voice agreed. 

Ven’s eyes, which had been blurred with tears caused by his coughing, cleared and he could see the four other people in the room. There were two boys, a girl, and a fourth person of indeterminate gender as they were wearing so many layers as to make it impossible to tell. Ven guessed they were all around his age, though one of the boys was pretty tall and the ungendered person was too well hidden, though they did appear rather small in stature. 

“Ven, these are the four I wanted you to meet,” Aqua said. “Guys, introduce yourselves.” 

The two boys began mumbling awkwardly and the ungendered person shrank back. The girl sighed and then spoke in the first speaker’s voice. “The big one is Raijin, or Rai. This is his voice. He’s the dumb one.” 

“Am not!” The big guy protested in the same voice, although his voice cracked as he spoke. 

“The one who tries to look cool but really isn’t is Seifer,” the girl continued on in the second speaker’s voice. 

“Yeah, well, the brutal rude one is Fuujin, aka Fuu,” Seifer countered. 

“And the shy one is Vivi,” the girl finished in Aqua’s voice. 

“Uh… hi,” Ven said. 

“Aqua said she was hoping we’d be friends,” Seifer said. 

“Plus your dad’s like, really awesome, y’know?” Raijin agreed. 

“Uh, that’s nice. But I-” 

“Worried,” Fuujin said. 

“Huh?” 

“Aqua’s worried about you.” 

“Dang Fuu, that’s like, three whole words at once in your own voice,” Raijin said. 

“Four,” Fuu corrected. 

“Whatever. It doesn’t matter. If Ven’s gonna be our friend, then we should find something to do,” Seifer said. 

“Then I’ll leave you guys to it,” Aqua said. The other four all waved goodbye. 

“So what kind of things do you like?” Seifer asked. 

“Uh, I don’t know,” Ven replied. 

“Do you like fighting?” Rai asked excitedly. 

“Not at all.” 

“Art? Ms. Yuna does crafts with us,” Vivi whispered. 

“Not really.” 

“We could watch TV,” Seifer suggested. 

“We don’t watch TV at home.” 

“Pillow fight,” Fuujin suggested. 

Ven opened his mouth to say no, but somehow it didn’t seem like a bad idea. It was totally childish, but he wanted to be childish. He was supposed to be a kid still. Why not act like one, just this once? 

“Sure, I guess.” Vivi clapped his hands gleefully, and Raijin punched a fist into the air. 

“Alright!” he yelled. 

“Do you think Cloud would mind if we let Ven use his pillow?” Seifer asked. 

“Mistake,” Fuujin said. 

“I’ll light incense at your funeral,” Vivi said, patting Seifer’s arm. 

“Well whose pillow is he supposed to use?” Seifer asked, leading the way out of the room. 

Before long, they each were armed with a pillow and were in a sort of living room. They’d teamed up to push the furniture aside, and now had plenty of space for their pillow fight. 

“Listen up. It’s me and Rai against you three. That should be fair,” Seifer said. 

Vivi laughed sinisterly, and Fuu smirked. 

“Going down,” she said. Ven suddenly felt that maybe this would be no ordinary pillow fight and perhaps he was in over his head. Too late to back down now. 

“Let’s get ‘em!” Raijin yelled, and all four of them lunged forward, launching themselves at each other with fierce attacks. Ven spent a shocked moment watching, but then Rai swung in his direction. 

“Oh no you don’t!” he cried, and joined in the fracas. 

The five of them rolled around for a while, sometimes fighting using the pillows and sometimes wrestling with the pillows as cushioning and sometimes chasing each other around. At one point, Ven was pinned underneath Seifer, and at another he and Vivi were teaming up in a futile attempt to hold Raijin down. 

“What in tarnation!” a voice yelled. The other four instantly untangled themselves and jumped to their feet, holding the pillows behind them. 

“Cid! Uncle Auron!” Seifer exclaimed. “Uh, fancy seeing you here, uh…” 

“Why wouldn’t I be here? I only live here and it’s only my name on the rental agreement,” the yeller grumbled. 

“V-Ven c-came t-t-to puh-lay,” Vivi stammered. 

“Oh, he did? So you’re Ventus?” the yeller asked, squatting to peer at Ven, who was still sitting on the floor. Ven nodded. 

“Nice to meet you at last. Name’s Cid. That’s Auron,” Cid said, pointing backwards at a man who hmphed in a way that was both unsociable but kind at the same time. 

“Uh, hi?” Ven said. 

“Now, nice of you to entertain our guest and all, but must you wreck the living room while you’re at it?” Cid asked. 

“We didn’t wreck it! We just, uh, rearranged!” Seifer protested. 

“Well un-rearrange it!” Cid barked. 

The four of them snapped to, mumbling apologies to Ven as they did. Ven got to his feet and helped, though as he did so he realized his cheeks hurt. He wondered why, until he suddenly realized he’d been laughing. For the first time in almost a year, he had laughed while playing with these guys. 

They had barely gotten the couch in place when Aqua came to get him so they could go home. 

“Thanks, I had fun,” Ven mumbled, then scurried down the hall after his sister. He had just reach the stairs when he heard them calling him. 

“Ven! Come again sometime, ‘kay?” Ven waved back. As he toddled down the stairs, he tried not to notice the look of hope on his sister’s face. Having fun with them may have been a fluke. 

But Ven thought that maybe, just maybe, this day had given him the strength to allow himself to be happy again.


	3. Confessional: Age - 13

Something just didn’t add up. Sora wondered how it had taken him so long to notice, but there was definitely something odd. 

Sora and Vanitas had learned certain inappropriate words at way too young an age. Some of it had to do with their words of the week. Zexion had started giving them weekly words as a way to embellish their education, but when Vexen overheard Vanitas saying that Zexion must be the smartest of their dads because he knew so many words, he decided to chip in too, and somehow the words of the week went from educational to a competition between the two, who often used building the twins’ vocabularies as a way to insult each other. Some of it stemmed from Marluxia, who didn’t have a proper concept of what was and what wasn’t appropriate for children. Some of it stemmed from movie nights, since rather than limiting the movie selection to things that were G or PG, the parents had decided to just watch whatever they felt like, and cover the twins eyes and ears whenever things got too mature for them. But all in all, a lot of it stemmed from Luxord. 

It was common knowledge to everyone in the Yakuza 13 as well as to all who had any association with the gang that Luxord had no filters. He was lewd and made no secret of it, and was generally considered a disgusting human being. There was no argument there. 

Yet despite this, Sora realized that for as long as he could remember, Luxord had had a good many female friends. If Luxord took the twins to the grocery store, some woman or other would say “hi” to Luxord and greet the twins like long lost friends. Sora didn’t notice this until much later, and he assumed that all these women were just ex-girlfriends or something. But then he realized another thing that had been happening all along, but hadn’t caught his attention up until now. 

Around the time Sora and Vanitas had been seven years old, Luxord had scolded them for talking about farting in front of their cousins. It had been odd, since all three of their cousins had been laughing along with the twins, but Luxord told them it was inappropriate. He also seemed excessively worried about them getting cold, since he insisted that everyone wear shirts with sleeves, and when Vanitas rebelled and tried to wear his basketball jersey, he made Vanitas put on a jacket. But now, years later, Sora realized events like that had only ever happened around their cousins; or rather, around Aqua, as once when it was just Ven and the twins they were allowed to run around shirtless and Luxord hadn’t cared at all. 

Sora tried casually broaching the subject with Vanitas, but his twin shrugged it off. Luxord was a pervert- everyone knew that. There was probably some explanation that had to do with his lust. But Sora couldn’t buy it. So he decided to approach the man himself. 

“Anyone up for a game of gin?” Luxord asked. 

“No thanks,” Vanitas said. 

“I’m reading,” Zexion said. 

“I’ll play,” Sora offered. 

“Woohoo! That means I get dibs on the computer!” Vanitas said. 

“One hour only,” Zexion told Vanitas, who rolled his eyes. 

Luxord and Sora went to the kitchen table and sat down. Luxord began to shuffle the cards, but Sora wasn’t waiting. 

“Padre, I don’t get it,” he said. “Everyone says you’re a perv, but you don’t act like one.” 

A few cards fluttered to the floor as Luxord stared at Sora. After blinking a few times, Luxord turned to pluck the fallen cards off the floor. 

“I mean,” Sora continued, “Xemnas seems to think you spend more time watching porn and going on dates than actually working and yet you freak out if Vanitas and I aren’t on our best behavior around Cousin Aqua and every time we go out some lady says hi and stops to chat and it always seems like you’re just friends.” 

Luxord coughed. “Well, obviously I don’t want to be so um… open… in front of my son, right?” 

“That’s not it. People who are dating always have a certain tension between them when they meet and don’t want people to know they’re dating. Like how Father and Lady used to be. But you never have that.” 

“I can’t fool you, can I? The others have always said you can be shockingly observant, and here’s the proof,” Luxord muttered. He reached for the neck of his shirt, pulling out his crucifix. 

“So? Why is that?” Sora asked. 

“Well you see, I used to be a priest.” 

“I know that.” 

“Yes, I suppose it’s not exactly a secret. But, the thing is, when I was invited to join the Yakuza 13, I er… may have embellished the reasons I left the cloth. You see, I just realized it wasn’t for me, that was all. I’d never even had any real interest in gambling before I left, it’s just, once I was out, I made a little deal with myself. See, my family was against me leaving the priesthood, not surprisingly since I only joined because of them. So I decided I would try a slot machine, and if I won, I’d donate it all to charity and continue on a path of my choosing, and if I lost, then I would bow to my family’s wishes. And I did win. So I donated it as I’d promised the good lord, and carried on with my life, only then I was invited to a poker game. I had no clue how to play, but I still won. And then curiosity got the better of me, or perhaps the gambling bug bit me, but I started frequenting casinos, and with my good luck everything worked in my favor, and so on until I joined the 13. But of course they do background checks, and the thing about me being a priest came out, and so they of course wanted to know how I’d gotten from there to here. And it seemed ridiculous to say “well being a priest wasn’t my thing and then I discovered I have good luck so here I am”, so I told them that I wanted some vice in the forbidden forms of girls and gambling. And once you tell a lie, you have to stick to it. I know the good lord will never forgive me for taking it this far, but it’s too late now. I’m sure someday my luck will abandon me and at that point I shall pay my penitence, but until then, I will do my best to serve God through the Yakuza 13, impossible as it may seem.” 

“So you still follow a priestly lifestyle, minus the gambling?” 

“For the most part. Obviously I do get into the odd tussle or two, and some of the rumors I spread for the gang’s sake are outright lies, but some are true too, so it’s really a toss up. As for the… um… what you mentioned. I don’t actually watch that kind of stuff. I just cue it up on the computer and put it on mute and let it play while I work on things in other windows and pull it up if anyone comes by. And while I do go on dates, I assure you, I am a perfect gentleman. We’ll go wherever the lady feels like, I will treat her to dinner, and then I give her a ride home, see her to her door, and then leave. Nothing untowards at all.” 

“So wait, you mean it’s all just a farce?” 

“Yup.” 

“And no one’s caught on?” 

“Er, not exactly. It just so happened that one of my dates was a friend of your Aunt Hope’s. She mentioned it to your aunt, and your aunt figured it all out. She found it very amusing, once she realized I hadn’t been leading her friend on and got over her fury. And Aqua also eventually guessed, though not surprising I suppose since I got so very conservative about behavior and dress code once she hit puberty.” 

“And Aqua never told anyone all this time?” 

“I asked her not to. And I’d appreciate it if you did the same. I have 17 years of bad reputation built up. If I get exposed now, it won’t easily be forgiven.” 

“I see.” 

Luxord dealt the cards, and Sora picked up his hand to consider it. He had a pair of nines and a pair of fives, as well as a 6, 8, 3, 10, ace, and jack. It wasn’t a bad hand, but it could be better. The first card was another 8, so Sora passed on it. 

“So then all those women who knew you really were women you dated?” 

Luxord took the 8 and put down a queen. 

“I took them on dates, but I’m not sure you could call it dating,” Luxord said as Sora took the queen and discarded his 3. 

Luxord passed on the 3 and put down a 4. Sora took it and placed down the 8, risky as it was. 

“But they seemed to really like you,” Sora said. 

Luxord took the 8 and laid down a 9. Sora took it, and double checked that he had this right. 

“Well a lot of people just need someone to listen to them. A lot of times, the women I ask out have troubles that they want to get off their chest. And after sitting in a confessional, I got pretty good at listening. They remember. Some of them even stay in touch and ask for my advice. Like that friend of Hope’s. She’s asked for help dealing with her kids a few times. Her daughter in particular can be problematic at times.” 

Sora knocked on the table, and discarded a five. 

“Two runs and three of a kind with only one deadwood,” he said, laying out his cards. 

“Sorry, but I’m afraid I’ve undercut you. I have gin,” Luxord said. “And no you may not have any, as you are underage,” he added with a chuckle. Ugh. Dad jokes. 

“Paaaaadreee,” Sora moaned. 

“Better luck next time,” Luxord said, ruffling Sora’s hair. 

They played five more rounds, and Sora didn’t win a single one of them. But Luxord never bet against the kids, so it wasn’t a problem. As Luxord watched Sora wander off following his crushing defeat, he realized that those boys were growing up. They really made him proud, those two.


	4. Which Character Are You?: Age - 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the intents and purposes of this chapter, Yen Sid is young, and he's a hot action star. We know it's hard to picture, but just roll with it.

Sora had to ring the doorbell twice before anyone answered it. He felt bad about ringing it the second time, but Vanitas was growing impatient and Sora feared his twin would use the knocker to begin hammering nonstop unless Sora tried again. Finally, Riku’s sister Rebecca opened the door. 

“The loser’s still cleaning his room,” she informed them. 

“Riku’s not a loser,” Vanitas told her, even though he himself called Riku a loser on a regular basis. 

“Does that mean we have to leave?” Sora asked. 

“I wish," Rebecca said, tossing her hair over her shoulder with a huff. "No, it just means you have to wait in the sitting room.” 

“Thank you,” Sora said, ever polite. Vanitas was already ducking under Rebecca’s arm to get into the house. Sora followed more hesitantly, and Rebecca slammed the door behind them. She was only two years older than Riku and the twins, but it was enough of a difference that she found herself far more mature than them, and to be anywhere near them would be way uncool. Riku’s parents said it was just a phase, and it may have been since she’d been perfectly nice to them until she started high school, but it still rubbed Vanitas the wrong way. Of course, Sora barely even noticed. 

The twins were just taking their shoes off in the foyer when Riku appeared at the top of the grand staircase and called down to them “I’ll be done in just a bit! I just have to-” 

Riku was interrupted by a voice calling “Riku! You call this clean young man? Get back in here!” 

Riku gave them an apologetic look and ran off to appease his mother. His mom liked everything perfect, and it could be hard to live up to her expectations at times. 

“Can I call Pappy to come pick us up yet?” Vanitas grumbled. He liked Riku well enough, but friends weren’t really his thing. Sora ignored Vanitas and led the way to the sitting room, taking a route that went through the kitchen so they could say hi to the cook, who, as always, was more than happy to pour them some lemonade. Once in the sitting room they sat down, Sora placing his glass on a coaster and then moving Vanitas’s glass from where he’d rebelliously placed it on the bare wood of an end table to another coaster. Vanitas scowled at him, but let it be. 

Ten minutes later they’d finished their lemonade, had played numbers three times and battled with their thumbs six times, and were bored. And Riku was nowhere to be seen. 

“I’m so bored,” Vanitas complained. “Can we go yet?” 

“But we came to play with Riku,” Sora protested. 

“God, you sound like such a baby. We’re thirteen years old Sora. We don’t ‘play’.” 

“Well, we haven’t done anything with him, which is what we came to do.” 

“Hmph. Well I’m bored. Like, really bored. Dying of boredom.” 

“Are not.” 

“Am too. I’ll prove it. I’m so bored I’m gonna look at Rebecca’s girl magazine.” 

“No way. You swore you would never look at one of those when Kairi and Selphie wanted to read us our horoscope.” 

“Yeah, but I wasn’t dying of boredom then.” Vanitas grabbed a magazine that was lying on the end table he’d left his lemonade glass on, and opened the glossy pages. 

“‘Are you and your BFF twins?’” he read. “Well duh.” 

“I don’t think your twin can be your BFF,” Sora said. 

“Why not? I like you best of all, and I always will, and isn’t that what being BFFs is all about?” 

“Yeah, but you’re obligated to like me.” 

“Even so, I wouldn’t like you if you were annoying. I like you because you’re cool, not because I have to. So we’re BFFs.” Sora grinned to himself at his brother's response. Trust Vanitas to say something so sappy and yet try to play it off as nothing. It'd be nice if he weren't so insistent on maintaining a "too cool to be nice" type image, but Sora liked his brother's petulance, even if it did leave him with a tendency to disguise compliments as insults. 

“Alright, why don’t we prove it?” Sora challenged. 

“Stakes?” Vanitas asked, rising to the bait. 

“You get to choose movies for the next month.” 

“Lame. But okay. Let’s take the quiz. ‘Question 1: Music preferences.’ That’s not even a question.” 

“Okay, but there’s options. Let’s see… ‘1: We like a few of the same songs. 2: We like the same genre. 3: We like all the same bands, and argue over who gets to date which band member.’ Umm, do girls really do that?” Vanitas snorted and gave Sora a condescending look. 

“Of course they do," Vanitas replied even though he had no idea. "The answer for us is 1, obviously. I don’t like most of that stuff you listen to. It’s just songs like ‘kantan de kirei’ and ‘seiiki’ that we both like.” 

“True. ‘Question 2: Do you share clothes? 1- Never 2- We’ll share in times of need 3- What’s mine is yours.’” 

“3. Definitely.” 

“Yeah. You still have my San Fransokyo shirt by the way.” 

“Oh boo hoo. You never wear it anyway.” 

“Only because you always steal it!” 

“Hush. What’s next?” Vanitas tried to sound bored, but he leaned in eagerly. 

The boys continued the quiz, and at the end, were told to tally up the sum of all their answers. It was a 10-question quiz, and their total was 12. 

“What’s it say, what’s it say?” Sora asked, as Vanitas was hogging the magazine. Vanitas glowered. 

“‘If your score was between 10 and 15, are you even friends?’” he read. “‘Clearly, you have very little in common. Some can make it work, but most likely, you’re not really BFFs after all.’ What bullshit!” 

“Aw, don’t feel bad. I mean, the questions were all about sameness. Just because we’re twins doesn’t mean we’re the same, right?” 

“Whatever, it’s just a stupid quiz,” Vanitas muttered, tossing the magazine aside. 

Sora picked the magazine up. 

“Oo, Van, Van, let’s try this one!” he said, pointing to another headline on the magazine cover. Vanitas squinted to read it. 

“‘How well do you know your bestie?’ Sora, that sounds ridiculous.” 

“Are you still bored?” 

Vanitas grinned. “Alright, hit me.” 

Sora was vaguely tempted to actually hit Vanitas, as that’s what Vanitas would do to him if he said the same thing, but he let it go. Just because Vanitas was that kind of person didn’t mean he had to be. 

“Okay, let me find it,” Sora said, and began turning pages. 

“Gimme that. You’re so slow,” Vanitas said, snatching the magazine and flipping through it rapidly. “Aha!” he crowed, finding the page. “Okay. ‘Who’s more likely to go to prison?’” 

“You,” Sora replied. 

“Eh, I don’t know. I’m more likely to commit a crime, sure, but actually getting caught? That’s so you. Plus you take the rap for me most of the time anyways.” 

“I suppose you have a point,” Sora sighed. 

“Of course I do. ‘Who’s more likely puke from stage fright?’” 

“I’d say neither of us.” 

“I’d say Riku.” 

“I thought we were just taking this for us.” 

“We were. But the answer is definitely Riku,” Vanitas snickered. 

“You’re so mean. What’s next?” 

And so the questions continued, up until... 

“‘Who’s more likely to marry Yen Sid?’ Why does that name sound familiar?” 

“He’s a famous actor. Selphie thinks he’s super hot,” Sora said. “But I’d say neither of us, since we’re both guys. Though I do wonder if they mean who wants to more or who is more likely to actually meet him to marry him…” 

“Oh, I remember. He’s in that one movie, ‘Delusia’, right? He is hot. Okay, I’ll do it.” 

“Huh?” 

“I said I’ll marry him. If it’s gotta be one of us, I certainly don’t mind.” 

“But Vanitas, he’s a guy.” 

“So?” 

“I just… I thought you liked girls. You said you liked Cousin Aqua before, remember?” 

“What’s it matter if he’s a guy or girl? Hot is hot. If a hot girl asks me out, sure I’ll date her. And if a hot guy asks me out, same thing. What’s the big deal?” 

“Just… I don’t think I’d ever want to date a guy. I thought we were the same.” 

“We are. But we’re also different, as that last quiz proved. It doesn’t change the fact that we’re twins and you’ll never escape me.” 

“I guess. So does that mean you’re like, bi or something?” 

“Eh, I was thinking more like pan.” 

“Pan?” 

“Pansexual. It means you are attracted to all genders.” 

“What’s the difference?” 

“That if you’re agender, that’s cool with me too. As long as you are hot and I don’t hate you.” 

“I guess you’ve put a lot of thought into this.” 

“Not really? I just figure since I have such a small number of people I actually like that if I worry about little things like ‘but he’s the wrong gender!’ I’ll end up forever alone and that would be lame.” 

“Wow. I wouldn’t expect you to be bothered by that.” 

“Look, I may not need friends. But that’s because I already have you. And who doesn’t want to experience love someday? I mean, look at our parents. You’ve got Papa and Mama and Lady and Father and also Pappy and Ma and they all are so happy together that it makes you kinda happy to be around them, and that kind of happiness sounds good to me.” 

“That’s true. So-” 

“Anyways, we should finish this quiz,” Vanitas interrupted. His ears were mostly hidden by his hair, but Sora could just see the edge of one, and it was bright red. It wasn’t often that one saw Vanitas get embarrassed. 

“Alright.” 

They had just finished up the second quiz when Riku came in. 

“Ugh, took you long enough,’ Vanitas griped. 

“Sorry, my mom decided my bookshelves were not satisfactorily organized, but then she couldn’t decide on a system she liked. If they were arranged by size it looked nice but they were out of alphabetical order, and then she wanted alphabetical by author’s last name and then book title, but that got some series out of order, and then also one series ended up split between two shelves, and- wait, Vanitas, why are you holding one of my sister’s magazines?” 

Vanitas chucked the magazine to the side. 

“I am not!” 

“Yeah, but you were.” 

“We were taking quizzes,” Sora informed Riku. 

“Seriously?” 

“Yeah. Vanitas said he was bored to death.” 

“Sorry. Come on, let’s go play Giovanni Buggi.” 

“Only if you let me be Wagio,” Vanitas said. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to be Princess Cherry?” Riku asked. 

“Oh you are so going down.” 

The boys left the room. Not five minutes later, Rebecca came in, searching for her magazine. She was appalled to find it on the floor. She began tearing through it, certain that those boys had been drawing on the faces of her favorite pop singers. But there was nothing. Rebecca was puzzled. Upstairs, the boys played their game. Sora and Vanitas acted the same as always, but inside, they were beginning to realize they weren’t kids anymore.


	5. The April Fool's Hair: Age - 14

“Are you sure about this?” Ventus asked. 

“I thought you said you wanted to get back at him? Besides, it’ll be hilarious,” Sora replied. 

“But it’s your guys’s birthday,” Ventus insisted. 

“Which makes it all the funnier, since Mama Xion insists on taking pictures of us to send to her family. Imagine how embarrassing it’ll be for him!” 

“Sora, he’s your twin.” 

“Ven, he’s constantly being a jerk to you. And every year, birthday or not, he pulls all sorts of pranks on me just because it’s April Fool’s Day. He doesn’t care if we get embarrassed, so why should we care if he gets humiliated?” 

“I suppose. But will this really work?” 

“You’re the one who asked Aqua about it. By the way, what excuse did you use?” 

“I said Selphie wanted to know. Which is actually true.” 

“That’s brilliant. Now hurry up, or we’ll get caught.” 

* * *

Vanitas had always loved his birthday. What better birthday than April 1st? You could prank everyone, and totally get away with it because who can get mad at the birthday boy and not be labelled a total jerk? No one. That’s who. Except maybe Sora, since he was the birthday boy too. But Sora pouted rather than getting mad at him, so there was nothing to worry about there. 

Sure, there were parts that were less than fun, like they’d have some big fancy dinner as a family. Sometimes the parents would invite their actual families as well, which tended to get a little awkward. And sometimes grandpa Xehanort would show up uninvited, which always made things really tense. And then there were the silly traditions, like him and Sora feeding each other the first bite of cake as if it were a wedding or something, or Xion taking pictures for the albums, and the stupid party hats they made him and Sora wear. Sora loved the hats, though he had become a little hesitant to wear them after the time Vanitas had filled his with pudding. 

But over all, Vanitas really enjoyed his birthdays. He could get away with anything (provided there was no fake blood. That had been banned after the incident on their seventh birthday. There had been too much panic, too much chaos, and also too much vomit since apparently despite years in the Yakuza 13, Demyx was quite squeamish when it came to gory wounds. And no cupping either after the year he tried that and the subsequent year where he repeated it with a twist. They had eventually come up with a solution to remove the upside-down cups without causing Saix to freak out because that might be the cup with the bug under it, but it had been a slow and rather painstaking process, and even if he was the birthday boy it had taken Axel nearly a month before he fully forgave Vanitas), and so that’s what he would do. And the cakes were always good, and they usually got some pretty cool presents- even the annual book from Zexion was usually interesting, and Vanitas rather liked the stuffed animals he still got from Lexaeus, though he would never admit it. And it was nice having dinner all together like that, even if the parents did constantly squabble. 

So from the moment Vanitas woke up on his fourteenth birthday, he was in a good mood. He remained in a good mood as he put the finishing touches on some pranks he’d thought up. It was a good thing he’d be getting some birthday money, as he’d spent quite a bit on whipped cream, honey, fake spiders, rubber snakes, whoopie cushions, and all his other supplies. It was going to be a good year. 

Unfortunately, he messed up the order of his pranks a bit. He thoughtlessly smeared the honey on the doorknob first, then got busy sawing through the legs on the chairs. This meant he got covered in sawdust, and needed a shower. Well, he was supposed to take one before the guests arrived anyways. 

After his shower, as Vanitas was drying off, he noticed something strange. His towel was stained. That was odd. Sora must have used it to dry some juice or something. That idiot. 

Shaking his head, Vanitas dressed and left the bathroom. Sora and Ventus stood outside, leaning against the wall and talking together. They looked up as he came out and burst into such laughter that Ventus doubled over, and Sora was leaning on the wall for support. 

“Oh my gosh. I can’t believe that worked!” Sora guffawed. 

“It’s- it’s-” Ventus gasped, but he couldn’t get anything more out from between his peals of laughter. 

“It’s what?” Vanitas asked, his eyes narrowing. 

“Pink!” Sora burst out, and then actually fell over. He rolled on the floor kicking and pounding the floor with a fist. Vanitas walked over and dragged his twin up, and Sora sprayed him with spit as he busted yet another gut. 

“What. Is. Pink?” He asked angrily. 

“Your hair,” Ventus’s voice came out a squeak because he couldn’t manage a normal tone with all his laughter. Tears were running down his cheeks as he tried to regain his breath despite his continuing giggles. 

Vanitas let go of Sora, who managed to stay standing, and raced back into the bathroom. Even before he wiped the condensation off the mirror, he could already sorta tell what had happened. The top of his head was covered by a mass of hair that should have been brown, but instead was a nice shade of fuschia. 

“Oh. My. God.” Vanitas couldn’t help it. He started laughing too. To think that those two, his air-headed brother and his annoying cousin, had managed to turn him into the fool. Him, the king of April Fools’ Day! He had to hand it to them. 

“God,” Sora wheezed from the doorway. You look ridiculous. Aunt Mulan’s going to love this year’s photo.” 

“Forget your aunt. I can’t wait to see Uncle Xemnas’s face,” Ventus chuckled. 

“Oh. My. God,” Vanitas repeated, feeling what little color he had drain from his face. “I’ve got to wash this out!” 

He grabbed his shampoo and glopped some into his hands. Only now he noticed the color was off. Of course. They’d mixed something into the shampoo. He groaned. 

“How am I supposed to wash this out?” he asked. 

“We’ll give you the real shampoo after dinner,” Sora said with an uncharacteristic smirk. It was like looking into a mirror, since Vanitas wore that expression all the time. It looked better on him though, since Sora’s blue eyes kind of took the edge off the look. Then again, pink hair would probably do the same. 

Vanitas spent the next hour with his head under the faucet in the tub with the water running, much to Sora and Ventus’s amusement. Unfortunately, his efforts were in vain. His head was still pink. 

“I need a hat,” he rasped as they heard a car pull up. 

“Better dry your hair, first,” Ventus said smugly. He’d pay for this later. 

“Unfortunately, I’ve misplaced all the hats in this house behind a locked door, and I won’t remember where the key is before dinner,” Sora said innocently. 

“You have got to be kidding. I can’t see our parents and guests like this! I look like an anime protagonist! Our friends will make fun of me!” They were mostly Sora’s friends really. Vanitas made nice to them but if Sora wasn’t around he didn’t bother with them. It wasn’t his style. 

“Then I guess you’ll have to shave your head,” Ventus said. “Though the stuff we used just might have stained your scalp as well. Are you willing to take that chance?” 

“Also we may have hid anything you could use to do that,” Sora said. 

“I hate you guys,” Vanitas said, and shoved them out so he could blow-dry his hair. 

* * *

At the end of the night, Vanitas had been laughed at and mocked for hours. Sora did make good on his promise and eventually surrendered the shampoo and the key to the closet where he’d hid the hats, but the damage was done. 

Still, there was a plus to all this. Aqua had given him an extra long hug to apologize for having told Ventus what he had needed to know to do this. Vanitas would have told her she didn’t need to be sorry, but he certainly didn’t mind a longer hug. He just hoped his face wasn’t as pink as his hair after that. 

That evening, as Vanitas and Sora got ready for bed, he eyed his new appearance in the mirror. They’d said it was temporary and would wash out after a few shampooings, but Vanitas was starting to like the new look. True, pink wasn’t the greatest of colors, but maybe if he darkened it to a nice red… He could try some different colors right? He’d have to figure out on his own how to dye it since anyone he asked would think he just wanted retaliation, but he could do it. And it would be nice to have yet another thing to distinguish him and Sora. It wasn’t that he disliked that they looked similar, it’s just it was kinda awkward when people came up behind him thinking he was his brother and being all friendly when he’d rather they didn’t. 

And that was the start of Vanitas’s days of dying his hair. He went through every color of the rainbow, trying combinations and streaks and all sorts of things, before finally settling on a basic black. Every now and then he’d add highlights, but that was just temporary stuff for special occasions.


	6. Xemnas is Cool: Age - 14

Eraqus’s phone dinged at him. He paused, debating whether to check and see what it was. He was going through some files for a case, and while there was no one around to tsk at his lack of professionalism in checking a personal phone, he was still working. It was principle to him that one did not check one’s personal phone at work. 

But what if it was something important? While Eraqus’s children knew to call his work phone if something went wrong, they could possibly tap the incorrect number for him in their contacts. It was unlikely, but still. He did worry, especially after that thing with Ventus a few years ago… 

It could also be the twins. Sora and Vanitas could never seem to remember his work number, and if they needed to contact him they might try his cell. They couldn’t even remember his work number when it was right there in their phones. Sora might genuinely forget that the number was there, but Eraqus suspected Vanitas “forgot” on purpose. 

Or it could be his nephew or one of his miscreants. There could be any number of reasons they would contact him through his cell. He’d rather not deal with them, but they were rather important clients. There was a constant inflow of money coming from them, not to mention the lives of him and his children would very likely be forfeit without the protection of the Yakuza 13. Xehanort in particular had never had good intentions towards Eraqus and his family, and events that had occurred over time had only caused his malice against them to grow. 

With a sigh, Eraqus pulled the phone out. He opened up the text to find… 

Good lord. What on earth? Eraqus put his phone down in absolute disgust. It was official. Xemnas had finally lost it. 

* * *

To understand the situation, one must first backtrack a ways, to a conversation between Sora and Vanitas over dinner one evening as Xemnas and Xigbar were parenting. It was a seemingly insignificant event, but with unexpected consequences. The conversation in question was when Vanitas asked Sora whether he thought it would be appropriate to use a certain emoji in a text. It was very brief, and was quickly forgotten by all. All except one. 

The following day, Saix had been asked to come to Xemnas’s office. He’d thought nothing of it, as it was not an uncommon occurrence. Xemnas often consulted him on official matters. So he arrived with his mind on business, ready to do his job as usual. What he did not expect was to be asked to explain a concept foreign to Xemnas. That was Xigbar’s job for crying out loud. 

“Saix, you are… younger,” Xemnas began, and Saix worried this was going to be one of those awkward conversations about marriage prospects like you always saw in movies. “You understand new things more easily, right? Of course you do. And so, as such, there’s a little matter, and I really can’t turn to anyone else, but maybe you can…” 

“What is it, sir?” Saix asked. 

“Er, well it’s, that is… What, pray tell, is an ‘emoji’?” 

“I beg your pardon?” 

“I mean what exactly is an emoji? I have heard the term and I do not understand.” 

Saix closed his eyes and silently counted to five. Sometimes the boss could be absolutely absurd. 

“An emoji is a small icon, usually a face or the image of an object, that is meant to convey an emotion.” 

“I see.” Whenever Xemnas claimed to see, it was a surefire sign that he did not. Saix sighed and elaborated laboriously. 

“A common one might be a yellow circle with a smile, like a smiley face, which would indicate happiness. There’s ones for laughter, sadness, anger, whatever emotion you want. There’s also weather ones, sports ones, animals, and a few other things. For example, Vanitas seems rather fond of the poop emoji.” 

“There’s a… poop… emoji?” Xemnas asked, blinking quite a bit. 

“Yes sir. It has a face. I’m not particularly sure what the exact meaning is; it seems to be quite flexible.” 

“Is that so. Well then, Saix, would you be so kind as to teach me how to use emojis?” 

Not for the first time, Saix wished he’d become an astronaut instead of a gangster. Sure, it was unlikely he’d be able to go into outer space together with Axel, but at least he’d be that much closer to the moon and that much farther from this insanity. Reluctantly, he took a seat and began to show Xemnas how to select emojis on his phone so that he could use them in texts and emails. 

* * *

By the end of the day, almost all of Xemnas’s contacts had received texts with emojis. Some texts did contain actual messages, but some were just a spew of emojis that made no sense and included an alarming amount of eggplant emojis. This was exactly the sort of text Eraqus had received: hearts and eggplants and smiles. It was all Eraqus could do to keep himself from calling up his nephew to give him one of those lectures where he did not shout or raise his voice but he still managed to lay into you in such a way that you would not dare defy him. 

Meanwhile, Sora and Vanitas were equally mortified. The thought of the strictest of their dads using emojis was horrifying enough, but that he would use them without understanding how much subtext there could be from emojis? He needed to be stopped. Unfortunately, with Xemnas, there was no stopping him, only waiting for him to hopefully lose interest. So the two argued over whose fault it was that Xemnas was using emojis: Sora’s, Vanitas’s, a clueless parent, a prankster parent, or a clueless prankster parent. They never reached a conclusion. 

Saix did not get home until late that night. As always when he was stressed, he had gone and organized his already well-organized files. When he did finally arrive, Axel was asleep on the couch, the TV screen blankly playing static. Saix did not understand his partner’s love for retro things like that VHS player, or why he’d watch movies alone when he always fell asleep to them. Before waking Axel, Saix found the correct remote and pushed the rewind button, watching the credits roll backwards a moment before turning off the screen. 

“Hey loser, get up,” he said to Axel, gently kicking the couch. 

“You could just carry me off to bed,” Axel suggested. 

“No I can’t. You’re too lanky. I’d bump your head on every door frame.” 

“Aw, you’re so considerate.” 

“No, I just don’t think you can afford to lose any more brain cells.” 

“Rude." Axel pouted for a second, but Saix's expression didn't waver at all so he soon gave up. "So what did the boss-man want?” 

“I should have just let you sleep out here,” Saix grumbled. 

“If you had a bad day then you need me around to make you feel better. So tell me about it.” 

“Who says I had a bad day?” 

“The way you’re avoiding the subject for one.” 

“I’m not telling you." Saix crossed his arms, a pout of his own forming on his face. "You’ll laugh.” 

“No laughing. I promise.” 

“You promised last time and you still laughed.” 

“Okay, I’ll laugh. But then I will be sympathetic as much as you need.” 

“And this had better not leave the house. No telling Roxas, or Xion, definitely not Demyx, no one. Not even the twins.” 

“Promise.” Axel even crossed his heart, and Saix felt himself melt a little. 

“Okay. The boss called me in to explain to him what emojis are.” 

Axel burst out laughing. 

“He wanted _you_ to explain _emojis_?” Axel laughed. 

“And teach him how to use them.” 

“Ha! No wonder he was sending all those weird texts today. Saix, you should have just told him to ask the twins!” 

“It certainly would have been less frustrating to do so, but I can hardly turn down a request from the boss. You know that.” 

“But still. Emojis?” Axel fell off the couch and rolled on the floor as he laughed. 

“Looks like you’re not going to stop for a while. I’m off to bed.” 

As Saix left Axel to be amused, he had to admit to himself that seeing Axel laugh this hard about it did make the whole situation seem a bit more amusing. Organizing his files may have been his go-to therapy, but his partner’s laugh did the same job twice as well.


	7. Damsel in Distress: Age - 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: irresponsible drinking, bad friends, unwanted romantic advances, implied underage drinking.

Aqua was never really certain how parties were supposed to be fun. She supposed the people getting drunk looked like they were having fun, but having to get drunk to have fun didn’t seem worth it. And being one of the few sober people at a party ranged anywhere from tiring to absolutely miserable. Aqua had plenty of experience to attest to this. 

And yet even though Aqua disliked parties this much, she still came along whenever her friends asked her. It was one of the traits she had in common with her father, that she couldn’t turn down a request. Especially when that request was for her to accompany them as a designated driver. She’d rather be miserable and get saddled with taking care of her friends than have them get arrested or end up in the hospital. If she came along, she could make sure her friends got home safely. 

Tonight was a bit worse than normal. Namely because of Zack. They’d bumped into each other a few times recently, and she hadn’t been super impressed. He was nice, but not her type, especially since these days he liked to go on about how tough he was, but given that she’d grown up with the Yakuza 13, she didn’t think he was such hot stuff. Even Sora and Vanitas could probably leave this guy in tears. So it had certainly came as a shock to Aqua when he approached her from the time she arrived at the party, and started trying to sweet-talk her. Hadn’t he noticed she ignored him whenever they were in the same place? Sure, she’d ended up boarding at Fantasy where he lived before, but that was years ago, and it’s not like they’d ever been all that close, since he’d kinda avoided her back then and she’d spent most of her time with Aerith and Tifa and Yuffie. 

As the night progressed, things only got worse. Zack apparently had a drinking bet or something going on with his frat buddies, since he kept gulping drinks down, and he became even less appealing as he got more and more drunk. His flirtations also got a lot more forward, despite her telling him to leave her alone and that she wasn’t interested. As Aqua knew he worked at a host club, she found it puzzling how someone who was such an awful drunk and whose flirting was a huge turn-off could ever make a career of drinking with ladies and selling sweet nothings. 

“Heeeeeeyyy, Aqua, babe!” Zack called from across the room. Drat. She’d thought she would have a little more time before he found her again. She had bet him he couldn’t do all the moves to the hit pop song “False Angel” that had been all the rage recently. Someone must have kept tabs on her and pointed him her way the moment the song was over. 

Zack reached her and slung an arm around her shoulders. His breath stank. 

“Listen, what do you say we go take shots together and then maybe we could slip someplace private, you and me?” He waggled his eyebrows at her. 

“Actually, I need to find Drizella and the other guys I came with,” Aqua said, ducking out from under his arm. 

“Oh, them? I heard they left already.” 

“What?” They couldn’t have left. She was supposed to be the DD. 

But she hadn’t gotten the keys from Rinzler. Oops. 

“Yeah, Anastasia was saying she just wasn’t feeling it and they all went home.” 

But why hadn’t they come to her if that was the case? 

“Excuse me, I need to use the bathroom.” Aqua got lucky in that the nearest toilet was unoccupied. She darted in and locked the door in case Zack tried to follow her, then pulled out her phone and texted her friends. Within seconds she got a slew of replies. Some of them made lame excuses, but Drizella had written “Have fun and tell me all about it tomorrow” and Anastasia had put “Ur welcome ;)”. It dawned on Aqua what had happened. They’d noticed Zack’s attentions to her and had decided to “help” her out by abandoning her. Some friends they were. As if she would hook up with anyone at this party, least of all him! 

She needed to leave. She tried her brother, Terra first. When he didn’t answer, she remembered he had gone to a concert tonight. Who else could she call? Her dad? He would be in bed already, but maybe he’d answer. 

But no, Eraqus didn’t answer. Who else was there? Ventus, Sora, and Vanitas were all just shy of being old enough to get their licenses. Though knowing Vanitas he’d drive out here anyways. All the boys had already learned to drive, and Vanitas claimed he was a good enough driver to not need supervision, which he was, but he didn’t know the way and what if he had an accident? No. Better not to rely on any of the boys. 

Maybe uncle Roxas would come, despite having a baby in the house. But he too didn’t answer. Aside from him and Aunt Xion, she had qualms about any dealings with the 13. Sure, she’d known them all forever, and called them uncle even though most of them weren’t related to her or in the case of Uncle Xemnas, he was actually her cousin, but they were… well… they were the Yakuza 13 for crying out loud. They weren't as bad as she'd once thought, but there still wasn’t a member among them that she could trust in such a situation. 

Or was there? 

“Aqua, baby, come on out of there and let’s get wasted together,” Zack called through the door. 

She didn’t have any options. She found the number in her contacts and pushed send. 

* * *

Zexion hadn’t been woken up since the last time Vanitas had wet the bed, so he was a bit groggy and didn’t answer his phone until the third ring, when Aqua was about to give up. Had he been more awake, he would have checked the caller ID, and been a bit perturbed as to why Aqua was calling him. As it was, he simply fumbled to tap in the password and answer the call. 

“Hello?” 

“Zexion? It’s me, Aqua. Can I ask you for a huge huge favor?” 

“Aqua, what’s wrong?” 

“I’m at a party and my friends left without me and I’m stranded and there’s this guy who won’t leave me alone and can you come pick me up?” Aqua was ashamed to find she was crying. What if Zexion told her to get lost or something? 

“Tell me where you are.” Aqua need not have worried. He was already grabbing the first shirt from his dresser. 

* * *

Zexion had no problem finding the party. It was so loud he heard it from a block away, and when he turned onto the street he could see a mess of people all over the lawn and overflowing into the street. He’d found the party. But he didn’t see Aqua. 

Pulling over as close as he could manage, he got out and called Aqua as he approached the noisy, smelly, overwhelming mass of people. She answered right away. As she explained that she was still stuck in the bathroom to avoid whatever guy was bothering her, he could hear someone banging on the door even over the phone. 

If Aqua disliked parties, it was nothing compared to Zexion’s hatred of them. He despised anything loud, with the exception of Sora and Vanitas when they were kids. He loathed crowds, and people getting in his personal space. And he was an absolute snob when it came to alcohol, almost as much as Marluxia, which meant he was appalled by the beer choices of party-goers. For someone like him, this was practically the ninth circle of hell. 

Despite that, Zexion only wasted a moment steeling himself before plunging into the chaotic throng. He wove through the masses, passing people throwing up in bushes and dancing dizzily into the street. He didn’t even pause at the front door, even though the conglomeration inside was so thick he had to shove up against people. He found the bathroom, and the cockroach of a person who had trapped Aqua inside it. There was also a girl dancing around whining that she needed to pee. Zexion pushed his way forward and knocked. 

“Aqua?” Before he said anything else he heard the lock click and the door flew open. Aqua came out, and the whining girl rushed in, tripping as she did so. 

“Hey, leave her alone!” the guy protested. Zexion glanced at the him. He was tall, taller than Zexion certainly, and had that muscle tone of someone who works out. Someone else might find him intimidating. Zexion found him to be insignificant. He wrinkled his nose and turned away. 

“Let’s go,” he said, and started to head back to the car. 

“Dude, get your own-” the guy started. He didn’t finish though, since he made the mistake of grabbing Zexion’s arm. In the blink of an eye, Zexion had flipped the guy through the air and landed him solidly on his back, winding him. As he wheezed, trying to get his breath back, Zexion realized that this guy was not altogether unfamiliar. 

“You work for Cid, don’t you?” he asked. “Zed or something?” “Zed” merely wheezed. 

“Hm. Well, whatever the case, don’t touch me. I don’t like it. And also leave my friend alone. She doesn’t like your attention.” 

Aqua was waiting for him at the door. Despite the crowds, the two of them had no troubles getting back to his car. Zexion turned the key in the ignition, and then they were gone. 

* * *

“Sorry for throwing your friend like that.” There had been dead silence in the car for the past five minutes. Ever since they had gotten out of earshot from the party, the only sound had been the engine. 

“I wouldn’t call him my friend. At least, not at the moment. Trust me, you were doing me a favor.” 

“Do I need to go talk to Cid about him?” 

“No, if it were that much of a problem I’d go myself. Cid likes me enough that if he knew one of his employees was causing problems for me, he’d erase their bank account or something. And if Aerith gets wind of this, she’ll probably make Zack regret having been born. Sometimes I almost wonder why she hasn’t applied for a position with you guys.” 

“Cid and his kids like to stay clean. They’ve got their reasons.” 

“Really? Like what?” 

“I think if they haven’t already explained that, then they would rather you didn’t know.” 

“Why? I’ve even lived with them so don’t I have a right to know?” 

“I think it’s more to do with your dad…” 

Aqua couldn’t argue with that. Eraqus had realized that he couldn’t keep his children away from the Yakuza 13 and criminal activity, but he did what he could to limit their dealings with crime. So while there were occasions where one of the 13 would come and pick them up from school, and they often came over on their birthdays and were present during other holiday events, there was a silent rule that nothing criminal get talked about in front of Terra, Aqua, and Ven. If there was some sort of dark history surrounding Fantasy, they would never let Aqua know. 

Silence reigned again. Aqua realized she had something she ought to say. 

“Thanks for picking me up, Zexion.” 

“Of course. You know you can count on me if something happens.” Aqua had actually been a little uncertain before tonight about that. Sure, when her dad had been overseas for so long and she’d been somewhat homeless, Zexion had been her friend among the 13. But since her dad had returned, there had been radio silence between the two of them. She’d almost forgotten she had his number. It was nice that they could resume their friendship so easily. And after all, she was in college now. She could make her own decisions. 

“Thanks.” 

For the third time, there was silence. But it was shorter lived this time. 

“So, uh, what have you been doing at school? Roxas said you’re majoring in human biology and kinesiology.” 

“Yeah, I am. I want to be a surgeon. I’ll be starting medical school in the fall. I know it’s going to be tough, but I really want to do this. I’m going to specialize in heart surgery.” 

“Because of your mom?” 

“Yeah.” Aqua didn’t really talk about her mom. Not since she was five. Her mom was dead. The end. No big deal. So what if it hurt her all the time? So what if she was suddenly forced to be the one to sing all the lullabies for herself and her brothers? So what if Ven only knew how great a mom they’d had from things people told him about her? So what if she woke up sometimes, terrified because she too might have her heart fail during pregnancy? There may not have been genetic links to Peripartum Cardiomyopathy, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t have the same issue. And so what if she was always scared that people she loved would just disappear like that? Her mother’s death had left her scarred, and her family as well. She could see the damage her mother’s death had wrought in her father and in her brothers and in Uncle Roxas. If she talked about mom, it would only cause more pain. 

“Well, knowing you, you’ll definitely get there. You’ve always been really smart. And you have good study habits, even though you always could pass your tests at school with your eyes closed.” 

“Thanks, but I’m not so confident about it. There’s all kinds of stuff I’ve been studying on my own time that I struggle with, and-” 

“And that is exactly what I mean. You’ll be in medical school for what, four years before residency? And yet you’ve already begun to study up for it. The only thing you need to worry about is being so advanced that all your peers hate you for finishing early.” 

“Yeah right. I don’t think you can finish early in medical school.” Aqua laughed. They spent the rest of the drive discussing a research project she and a group of other undergraduates were conducting. Zexion had great love for science, and he found their study fascinating. He also had some helpful tips. 

As he pulled up in front of her apartment, Aqua found herself saying “Thanks again. Do you want to get coffee some time? I want to thank you for picking me up, and I think my research group would love to meet you. Also I’ve missed talking to you. We should catch up.” 

Zexion nodded. 

“Text me what time is good for you,” he said. He waved and drove off, though he was in such a hurry due to nerves that the tires squealed. 

* * *

Zexion had just had one of the most confusing car rides in his life. He wasn’t sure when he realized it, but he had found himself glancing over at Aqua far more than was strictly safe for a driver. And that was what confused him. This was Aqua. He’d known her since she was little. So why was he suddenly seeing a completely different person from before? 

It had left him as breathless as he’d left Zack back at the party when she asked about meeting up again. He was amazed when he managed to answer her, and even more amazed that his voice didn’t crack. He’d left quickly, largely because he wasn’t sure it wouldn’t crack if he said anything more. 

The next evening he and Luxord went for their turn as parents. Even now that the boys were teenagers, the 13 still took turns parenting in the same pairs they’d decided on fifteen years ago. It disturbed him a bit to think that for fifteen years he’d spent one night a week with Luxord. That was more than two years worth of days. He’d had a few affairs during the past decade and a half, but they had all been relatively short, not even lasting a month in most cases. And yet he’d spent more than two years worth of days with Luxord. The thought was revolting. 

As the boys did their homework, Zexion tried to read. But his mind was elsewhere, namely on the text he’d gotten from Aqua inviting him to dinner next Tuesday. He’d asked if her research group was coming, and she’d apologized that they couldn’t make it, but she’d be sure to relate his ideas to them. This was his chance. And he had no idea how to take it. This was different from anything he’d ever done before. 

Finally, he gave up on his book, and found Luxord in his room, having a drink where the boys couldn’t see him. Thanks to Xigbar’s tendency towards a no-denial policy of parenting, the boys had developed a taste for alcohol, and so the rest of the 13 were trying to discourage them from drinking by not letting them see any of their guardians drinking. 

“Er… Luxord?” 

Luxord jumped, then realized it was just Zexion. 

“Oh lord, you startled me. What is it, Zexion?” 

“Well, I was wondering… You’re good with ladies, right?” 

“Am I good? No. I am great. I am a gift from god above. One of the reasons I left the priesthood you know. It would’ve been a sin for me to remain under vows of celibacy.” 

“Sure. But anyways, I was wondering, if you were interested in a girl, and you wanted to let her know, how would you do it?” 

“Praise the heavenly father. Zexion, after 35 years, have you finally fallen for someone? Hallelujah!” 

“Luxord, you’re an atheist now.” 

“Doesn’t mean I can’t thank the good lord for performing miracles.” 

“Nevermind. I think I’ll just figure this out on my own.” 

“What, from books? Are you mad? Zexion my boy, books can’t tell you how to make a woman swoon. They can’t help you with the secrets of love. They don’t know the finesse of worming your way into her heart. For all that, you need me.” 

“Actually, I was thinking of asking Roxas, seeing as how he’s the only one of us who’s managed a normal and successful long term relationship and is also heterosexual as I am.” 

“Roxas?!” Luxord coughed. “No my friend, you can’t go asking Roxas. That kid got lucky. If he hadn’t met Xion he would be perpetually single, even more so than you.” 

“Thanks a ton,” Zexion said sarcastically. “And how do you know I haven’t ‘gotten lucky’ or whatever it is you want to call it?” 

“Because if you had you wouldn’t be here talking to me.” 

“Fine.” 

“Sooo, are you going to tell me all about her?” 

“No. I just need to know how to let her know I’m interested.” 

“I need to know details.” 

“I gave her a ride, and we’re meeting again. To talk about stuff, and for her to pay me back.” 

“Woah woah woah. You can’t let her pay you back! If you do, she’ll never take you seriously. You should always pay for the girl. It’s not like you’re hurting for money being one of the 13.” 

“Right. Well, it’s not exactly a date, but I want to make it one. Only not really. Because that might be awkward. More like, I want to make an impression?” 

“Well, what I think-” Luxord began. He was interrupted. 

“Flowers!” Sora said from the doorway. “Get her flowers!” 

Luxord hastily hid his glass. Luckily, he’d already put away the bottle. 

“Luxord, we already saw it,” Vanitas informed him. “And they shouldn’t be just any flowers. If I remember from Marluxia correctly, red roses are the symbol of love.” 

“But roses are so cliche,” Sora argued. “Find out what she likes and get her those.” 

“Personally I’d stick to roses myself. Unless she’s allergic,” Luxord put in. 

“And hold the door,” Vanitas added. 

“Pull out her chair,” Sora said. 

“Compliment her.” 

“Request a song she likes.” 

“Don’t do anything perverted, or you’ll get bitch-slapped. Which would be funny, but it doesn’t convey romance. Only creepiness.” 

“Give her space.” 

“Listen when she talks.” 

The suggestions were many, and Zexion felt overwhelmed. He was beginning to think that love really was all about luck, and he wasn’t sure he had any. 

* * *

Aqua wasn’t sure why she spent so much time picking an outfit. She usually just wore whatever. So why was she so nervous about this? It was just dinner at a ramen stand! And yet here she was rejecting that outfit because it was too plain, this was too slutty, too conservative, too sparkly, too spinster-esque; she found issues with everything. Doing her hair and makeup also took way too long. She tried several different styles and colorings before she finally went with keeping her hair down and going for a nude look with her makeup. 

Despite the time she’d took getting ready, she still was ready to go an hour before Zexion was supposed to come. It was almost like she’d been getting ready for a date. But that was ridiculous. Zexion was… he… well, she liked him well enough. But to him she was probably just a kid. And she was just a kid really. She was old enough to drink, but so what? Dressing up was almost pitiful of her, really. 

She busied herself by tidying her desk, even though it was already rather neat and really she was just making it messier. Before she knew it, the doorbell was ringing, and she was rushing to the door, glad her roommates had work or late classes and weren’t home yet. 

She was especially glad no one else was home when she opened the door and Zexion had flowers. A full bouquet. She thought she was going to melt. Did this mean something? Surely not. But if it did… 

If it did she wanted to be alone right now so she could dance through her apartment in joy. Instead she calmly invited him in while she got out a vase for the flowers. They had exactly one, and were using it to store candy, but she dumped the candy in a plastic container and arranged her roses. She might have stared at them all night. But there was dinner. And maybe a movie after? No, she had class tomorrow. She couldn’t. She should have planned this for a weekend. Why had she told him Tuesday? 

Zexion remembered all the suggestions. Not that it was hard. Aqua was quite beautiful, so complimenting her came easy, and it just seemed natural to hold the door for her. She was reluctant to let him pay, but in the end she conceded. It wasn’t a super romantic night, but it wasn’t technically a date. 

After driving her home, Zexion walked her to her door. They stopped outside, and he took a deep breath. 

“Aqua, I know this is a bit forward of me, but I was wondering, would you like to go on a date sometime?” It had been something Vanitas had told him: make it clear. Sometimes you had to be explicit, or you left the relationship in uncertain waters and that’s where things could go wrong. 

“A date? Sure, if you don’t mind being out with a kid like me.” Aqua tried to make it into a self-deprecating joke, but her true concerns that he might think her immature got in the way. 

“A kid?" Zexion frowned a moment, considering. "A couple years ago, you were indeed a child, but you’ve grown up. It really caught me off guard, how mature you’ve gotten. A-and how much I’ve come to like you.” He’d said he liked her. Was this good enough? Or maybe he was trying too hard? Why was love so difficult? Was it because he was one of the 13? 

Aqua was blushing bright red, she could feel it. So much for being mature. Any moment now he’d take back what he’d said because he’d realize that the truth was otherwise. She stared at her feet and didn’t look at him, which meant that she didn’t see his face burning equally bright. 

“So, uh, where would we go on this, uh, d-date?” she asked. 

“Oh, I hadn’t, er, thought that far. I didn’t think you’d say yes.” 

“Then, text me what time and place is good for you?” she said, trying to repeat what he’d said before. 

He laughed and then hugged her close. She was disappointed when he didn’t kiss her. 

“Sure thing,” he said, and turned as if to go. 

“Good night,” she said. Something in her voice made him do it. He turned back and then their lips met. Aqua was amazed to find that Zexion was only a little taller than her. But it seemed to her he was the perfect height. 

The kiss was over all too soon. And then Zexion was wishing her a good night, and she was wishing him one, and now she had her keys out and was unlocking her door. 

Aqua was greeted by squeals from her roommates. They were all home, and had all been listening at the door. They’d all heard. And since Quorra had been looking through the peephole, they knew about the kiss too. It was going to be a long night. 

* * *

Zexion had read romances before. Quite a few. Real life wasn’t one of them. It was confusing, and somewhat painful in the way it made his heart throb, and a general mess. And yet it was far better than his books. He hoped he and Aqua lasted a long time. Definitely more than two years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... This was supposed to be a joke ship. Only then we had to try and figure out how such a ship would happen, and ended up planning this out and committing to the ship somewhere along the way. Oops.


	8. The Bet: Age - 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Again, some unwanted flirting (Not Zack this time though), slurs. Sorry that ended up happening two chapters in a row, but this should be the last time.

“I don’t know how girls manage to wear those.” Sora stated, his face resting in his hands and his elbows on his knees. 

Vanitas responded automatically, “Wear what?” He wasn’t paying full attention as he had spotted Riku in the school’s parking lot and was debating getting up from the curb and talking to him about the latest music album he had borrowed. 

Sora scuffed the tar of the parking lot with his shoes, his eyes following a long-haired blonde as she walked to her car. “Wear heels.” 

Vanitas was halfway to standing when Riku got in the passenger’s seat of his sister’s car and they took off. With a disappointed sigh, Vanitas collapsed back onto the sidewalk curb, wishing Vexen would show up already. He had a tendency to show up late when picking the teens up from their after school activities because he would get distracted with his research. 

“Does it really matter how they wear them?” Vanitas asked, leaning back on his hands idly. He stared up at the sky and basked in the sun that had been sorely missed during the colder winter months. 

“I guess not. It’s just,” Sora sighed, “girls are such a mystery you know? There’s just something about them that makes them hard to understand. They’re just, so, alluring.” 

Vanitas side-eyed Sora for a bit before leaning over and elbowing him in the side. “Does my baby brother have a crush?” He teased. 

With a blush, Sora pushed Vanitas away “No! And you don’t even know which of us is younger!” 

After this outburst, the twins lapsed into silence again. After a few moments Sora turned to his brother and poked him. “Hey, you play a girl in the play. Do you understand them?” 

Vanitas swatted away Sora’s hand. “I play someone disguised as a girl, that’s different.” 

“You’re right.” Sora said, placing his chin back into his hands. “There’s no way you could make a convincing girl anyways.” 

“Excuse me?” Vanitas drawled. “I would make a better girl than you.” 

Sora sat up straight to look at his twin “Nuh-uh, you’re way too domineering to be a girl. Girls have a more subtle power about them.” 

Vanitas glared back at Sora, “Yeah well, you’re too straight-forward to convince anyone you’re a girl. Girls know when not to face things head on.” 

The brothers stared at each other for a few moments until finally Sora stuck out his hand. 

“A bet?” he asked. 

“A bet.” Vanitas answered, shaking his hand. 

“What’s the stakes?” Sora questioned as he brought his hand back and started to hit the back of his heels against the curb. 

Vanitas tilted his head to the side, thinking for a bit, before smiling evilly and looking at Sora. “Winner gets the loser’s allowance for a whole month.” 

Sora gasped, “That’s way higher stakes than what we normally go with!” he exclaimed. 

Vanitas shrugged. “It’s a more intensive bet that we’re setting up.” 

“But I was gonna buy the complete Chibi Werewolf DVD set.” Sora whined. 

“Not my problem, you shouldn’t have accepted if you thought you’d lose.” Vanitas responded. 

* * *

When Vexen arrived to pick up the boys he was given only a quick “Hey Doc” before Sora threw his track bag into the front and the twins piled into the back. They then began whispering conspiratorially with each other. Any questions he asked about their day were answered with one syllable. Watching them talk with their sly smiles in the rearview mirror made Vexen uneasy, it was never a good sign when the twins started planning something together. If he could, Vexen would force this problem on Marluxia. 

Unfortunately these thoughts were waylaid when he got home to find a cross looking Marluxia waiting for him. 

“Late again Vexen? How many times does that make this?” Marluxia asked rhetorically. 

Vexen went on the defensive. “Hey, I at least let them know I was going to be late this time. I had to make certain an experiment-” 

“I’m sick of your excuses Vexen. At this rate, I might as well pick up the boys.” At this point the twins in question walked through the door, still whispering to each other and ignoring the adults as they went past 

“Boys!” Marluxia called after them. “Make sure you wash up and set the table for supper!” When he had heard a confirmation from the twins, Marluxia focused back on Vexen. “Though because of you, I’ll have to reheat it!” 

Vexen groaned and slouched, it was going to be one of those days. 

* * *

Sora and Vanitas decided on two things. One was that if they were going to become convincing girls they would need outside help. Second was to keep knowledge of the bet to as few people as possible. If they wanted to fool anyone they couldn’t risk people knowing ahead of time. 

With some debate, the twins decided the first thing they would focus on was their hair. After all, when a woman is described in fairy tales, her lovely locks are always mentioned. Though both Vanitas and Sora had mops of thick soft hair that could make any hairdresser envious, there was several problems; the main one being that their hair had so many cowlicks that it was difficult to style in any way. With this reasoning the twins approached Marluxia first. 

Marluxia was enjoying a glass of after supper wine in the dining room when the boys settled in chairs across from him. 

“Can I help you boys?” he drawled, looking up from his crossword. 

“Yes, actually.” Vanitas said. “Your hair is very… pretty.” 

“I thought we were done with your flirtations Vanitas.” Marluxia interrupted. 

Sora shook his head vehemently. “We’re serious about this. Can you help us have hair that looks like a girl’s?” 

Marluxia hummed thoughtfully as he reached over and took a tuft of Sora’s hair, pulling it down to frame Sora’s face. Eyeing it critically he responded, “Your hair is hopeless as is, but I might have some wigs you two could use.” He let go of Sora’s hair and brought his hand back. “Though, why do you two wish to change your hair so drastically?” 

“No reason!” The twins chimed together much too quickly. 

“But wigs would work great Marluxia.” Vanitas stated. “Could we get them tomorrow?” 

Marluxia looked at them both suspiciously as the two held innocent expressions. The kids were up to something and he wasn’t sure what. Eventually Marluxia shrugged internally- whatever they were planning it would probably be good for a laugh. “That is doable. I will drop them off with strict instructions on how to care for wigs. I need them for work so I expect them to be in fantastic condition when you return them.” 

Both Sora and Vanitas agreed to this and gave Marluxia their thanks. They then got up to grab their backpacks in order to work on their homework. But just as Vanitas was about to leave he turned around to give a glare that, thanks to a picture sent from Larxene, Marluxia knew for a fact Vanitas practiced in the mirror. 

“And don’t tell the other parents about this.” Vanitas threatened. “Or else you won’t be drinking wine anymore.” 

Marluxia nodded seriously but when Vanitas was gone he burst into a proud smile. Their little Vanitas was growing up and getting better at threatening people! 

* * *

Marluxia fulfilled his promises, not telling Luxord or Zexion about the twins’ plan when they showed up at eight and delivering the wigs as promised on Thursday. With these wigs in hand the twins eagerly waited for Friday night when Xion would show up for hers and Roxas’ turn with the twins. Between her and Larxene the twins had decided that Xion would be a better choice in teaching them how to act like girls. Larxene would have been fine, but they feared that the lesson would turn into another lecture about how to appropriately respect women. 

Unfortunately for them, when it was time for the parent pair to switch, Roxas showed up with their son Ephemer in a carrier but no Xion in sight. 

When asked about where Mama Xion was Roxas gave the boys a confused look “She’s out of state for a martial arts tournament. Remember?” He replied. 

The twins started whispering to each other with this new information so Roxas brushed past the boys to enter the living room. There he set up a playpen with a mattress and blankets, then placed the sleeping Ephemer inside the playpen. When Roxas had finished settling in Ephemer the twins had entered the living room. 

“Papa Roxas, can we visit Aqua tomorrow?” Sora asked. 

“Aqua?” Roxas looked taken aback, “I guess if she’s okay with it, why?” 

Vanitas answered. “We haven’t seen her in a while and since she’s home for spring break we thought we’d hang out.” In truth the twins were impatient to start their bet and decided Aqua would be a good alternative to Xion. 

So with a call to Aqua on the landline the twins set up a time to hang out at their Uncle Eraqus’s house. 

* * *

“Don’t forget that Xigbar and Xemnas are at the house today, so if you stay late you can call them.” Roxas said. 

Sora and Vanitas responded with a chorus of “We will” and a goodbye to Ephemer, who gurgled happily in his carseat. They then left Roxas’s car and walked up to the front door of Eraqus’s house. With a smooth motion Vanitas stabbed the doorbell, causing a loud ring to echo through the building. There was a loud thump and after a short time the door creaked open slightly to reveal the face of Terra. 

“What are you twerps doing here?” he grumbled then gave a pointed glare to Vanitas. “Ven’s not here.” 

Unfazed by Terra’s apparent grumpiness Sora responded cheerily. “We’re here to see Aqua!” 

Terra studied them for a bit, judging how truthful they were before finally opening up the door enough for the twins to come in. “Alright, fine. She’s in her room. Make sure you knock.” 

As Vanitas passed by Terra he tapped his lip and said, “You have drool on your chin,” then smirked when Terra began to frantically rub it away. 

Sora had barely tapped on Aqua’s door when it was flung open to reveal the bluenette, eyes shining and lips curved into a smile of excitement. 

“Come on in guys, I’ve been waiting for you.” Aqua said with enthusiasm. She was practically bouncing on her heels with energy. 

The twins entered Aqua’s room to find the usually pristine space covered in clothes, they seemed to be laid out with some kind of pattern in mind, but the boys couldn’t even guess what it might be. 

Aqua was babbling on, “I’ve been brainstorming ways to make you two look like and act like girls since you called me and I thought it would be best to figure out outfits first. They say dress what you want to be like right? I thought you two could try on my clothes first and then we could go shopping for shoes and makeup. I know I’m a little taller but you two are so skinny that the clothes’ll probably fit about right anyway. So what do you two think?” So looked at the two boys expectantly. 

“Uh…” Sora droned while Vanitas looked around the room in slight confusion then met Sora’s eyes. Neither of them had expected Aqua’s enthusiasm or the amount of effort that would go into their bet. They thought they could show up, hang out with Aqua for an hour and be done. But shopping? Shoes? Makeup? It was more than they bargained for but as they say, in for a penny, in for a pound, right? 

“Sounds good to us.” Sora responded, putting on a smile. 

Aqua smiled back. “Alright.” she then shuffled over to some of the clothes and started explaining. “In this pile I have some things you might like Sora and over here are some things for you Vanitas.” 

After Aqua finished describing what the different piles of clothing were the boys began picking through them, trying on things they liked while Aqua turned around for politeness. The last time the boys played dress up with Aqua had been years ago and trying on her clothes gave a nostalgic feeling. But after a while trying on clothes became boring. It was tedious putting something on then waiting for Aqua to give them an ‘okay’ or a ‘maybe something else,’ until Sora found a floppy hat and a feather boa in Aqua’s closet that with the dress he was wearing made him look like he was from the ‘20s. When Aqua turned around to see him wearing the outfit she giggled in surprise. She then dug into her jewelry box and pulled out a long chain of fake pearls that she placed over his head. 

“There.” She said, “Now you’re ready for a night out on the town.” 

Sora grinned. “Will you accompany me as my escort?” 

“Let me get dressed first.” Aqua said. She then went to her closet and pulled out a fedora, some suspenders and a bowtie which were all from a dance recital several years ago and put them on. Then she turned to Sora and offered her arm. “Milady?” 

Not wanting to be left out, Vanitas scrambled from where he was crouched on the floor to make a costume, settling for an outlandish scarf and another hat that had fallen from Aqua’s digging. 

“I believe you’ll be my escort for the evening.” Vanitas announced as he stood up and pushed Sora out of the way. 

The twins and Aqua then began to playfully argue over who would be escorting who until they finally had to stop from giggling too much. 

After that things went much quicker, the boys occasionally throwing on something silly to surprise Aqua while creating a pile of things they liked and one for those they didn’t. Sora’s pile of things he liked ended up being a lot bigger than Vanitas’s. After going through the clothes one more time the twins settled on what they liked best. Sora decided he liked a colorful tunic dress that was loose-flowing enough to hide his figure and muscled arms. Vanitas opted not to wear a dress; instead he chose an oversized black sweater that they would need to buy a skirt for him to wear with, as Aqua’s skirts were all too loose on him. 

With that decision made Aqua quickly went through her make-up to see if she had anything in the twins’ skin tone. She didn’t. How was Vanitas so pale? It wasn’t fair. She then pulled out some jewelry the twins could wear with their outfits. Now having an idea of what they needed to buy, Aqua grabbed the keys to her car and herded the twins into it so they could go shopping. 

* * *

Knowing that she could get carried away in shopping, Aqua tried to make the trip as quick and painless as possible by visiting her favorite superstore. First they needed to buy bottoms for the twins. Sora needed leggings because his dress was a little on the shorter side. So while Sora hunted for something in his size Aqua took Vanitas prowling through the rest of the women’s clothing section. At first he tried on some jeans, but Sora said if he wanted to look like a lady he had to go all the way. So Vanitas started looking through the plethora of skirts. He settled on a simple pleated skirt that came to his mid thigh, mainly because of the color. Pink wasn’t his favorite but it was the only one that didn’t have colors or a pattern that burned his retinas. 

Next were shoes, and it took all of Aqua’s powers of persuasion to keep Vanitas from buying stilettos because she was afraid he would twist an ankle in them, or worse, stab someone. She finally convinced him to settle for ankle-high boots with only an inch heel, which he grudgingly walked down the aisle and back to prove he could handle them. For Sora they had to buy flats as there wasn’t any other kind of women’s shoes sold in his size that weren’t extremely expensive. 

They then made a quick trip to the makeup section before Aqua moved on. The next area she brought them to had the twins frozen in the walkway, Sora with embarrassment and Vanitas with slight unease. Aqua had gone five feet before she realized the twins weren’t following her and turned back to approach them. 

“Is something wrong?” she asked. 

Sora shifted his weight from foot to foot nervously before answering. “You didn’t tell us we had to wear-” his voice dropped down to a whisper. “-bras.” 

Aqua responded to his nervousness matter of factly. “An important part of making you two look like ladies is giving you curves. And stuffed bras are an easy way of doing that.” 

“Oh.” Sora responded. He looked down at his feet, still reluctant to enter the ladies intimate apparel area. 

“No offense Aqua.” Vanitas said, “But Sora and I might look like real creeps if we’re seen perusing women’s intimate apparel.” 

Aqua bit her bottom lip thoughtfully. “I guess you’re right Vanitas. Why don’t you two wait by the fitting rooms while I find something for you two?” 

The boys nodded in consent, but before they could leave Aqua gave them both a hug. Normally the boys loved getting hugs from Aqua, they were always comforting and warm. But standing at the edge of the intimates section made them all too aware what parts of her body touched theirs. So as soon as she let them go they fled as fast as they could while still trying to look natural. 

When the boys were gone Aqua looked down at her arms, “32 inches around, huh?” she mumbled to herself. 

* * *

After the extreme awkwardness of trying on bras and having Aqua coming into the fitting room to make sure they fit, all the shopping was finally done. Ignoring the amused looks from the cashiers- the fact that two boys were buying girls clothes had spread like wildfire through the employees- the three of them bought their items and left to go back to Aqua’s house. 

Once back at her house, Aqua figured the boys had prepped enough and that it was time for videogames. Most of the day passed this way and Aqua dropped the boys back at their house with promises that they could meet the next day to finish what they had started. 

* * *

The next day Aqua picked up the twins and brought them back to her house. There Aqua finally began teaching Sora and Vanitas common girl behavior, such as how to walk and sit without giving themselves away. Sora picked up these habits pretty easily but Vanitas struggled. 

“Vanitas stop being so confrontational!” Aqua would scold. “You need to keep your feet together and stop crossing your arms!” 

When Aqua thought they had learned enough they could practice on their own she switched them to figuring out their voices so they could sound like girls. It took awhile but Sora managed to find a falsetto tone that would work while Vanitas settled for what sounded like a deep-voiced girl with a slight huskiness to her voice. 

Finally, Aqua decided it was time for a ‘dress rehearsal’ where everything would be brought together so the twins could get a feel for what it was like. So she staked out the bathroom, bringing in two stools the twins could sit on so she could do their make-up. 

Aqua had managed to put foundation on both of the boys and was working on putting eyeliner on Sora when Terra knocked on the door, causing it to swing open. “Aqua, Dad wants to know if you’d rather have spaghetti or chicken fett-- Whaaat is going on here?” Terra asked, staring at Sora and Vanitas sitting on stools with their hair pinned closely against their head and Aqua, who was leaning over Sora with her makeup bag nearby. 

Vanitas rolled his eyes. “We’re getting makeup on. What else would we be doing?” 

Terra ignored the tone of Vanitas’ voice that implied he was an idiot. “Okay, and why are you doing this?” 

“They’re trying to look and act like girls.” Aqua answered. “Sora stop squirming!” 

“I can’t help it!” Sora cried. “It’s like you’re about to poke my eye out!” 

“You’ve never wondered what you might look like as a girl?” Vanitas questioned Terra. 

“Well, I would look like Aqua of course, we are twins after all.” Terra responded. 

Vanitas snorted. “There’s no way you could ever look as pretty as Aqua.” 

Aqua gave up, backing away from Sora and letting him blink frantically. “Look, can you just tell Dad I’d like chicken fettuccine and that we’ll be having two guests for supper?” 

“Do you want me to specify that its Vanitas and Sora, or should I leave it vague? Terra asked. 

“Vague please.” 

Eventually Aqua managed to finish putting makeup on Sora and switched to Vanitas, who sat perfectly still while Aqua applied eye makeup. The boys then put on their outfits and Aqua helped them put on their wigs. Vanitas had one with straight black hair that fell to his armpits and Sora had curly brown hair that brushed his shoulders, causing him to giggle because it tickled. 

When the twins had everything on, it was time for supper and the boys’ first test. Could they fool Eraqus? Ventus was at a friend’s house for the weekend so they couldn’t trick him. 

No they couldn’t; as soon as they entered the dining room to eat Eraqus stared at them in shock. “You know I love both of you boys,” he prefaced his next sentence, “But what on earth are you wearing?” 

Sora, Vanitas, and Aqua all deflated at this statement. “They’re trying to look like girls, so they’re wearing girl-stuff.” Aqua explained. 

Eraqus began massaging at his temple with a hand. The things these boys did… They were almost worse than their parents at times. “I’m not even going to bother asking why and let your parents deal with it. Just sit down and let’s eat.” 

* * *

Despite Eraqus seeing through them right away Sora and Vanitas were determined that they could fool their parents. They just needed to practice more and catch them off-guard. Besides, Eraqus probably knew that they were over and could easily infer who they were. They also realized that Vanitas’ yellow eyes could be a give away. The twins would spend the week Aqua was home for spring break getting used to being girls. This would give them time to find color contacts for Vanitas and Aqua could stop by and check on the twins' progress and answer any questions they could have, as she was also part of their plan to fool their parents. 

* * *

When Saturday came around again the twins put their plan into action. After lunch they told Larxene and Lexaeus that they were going out for a bit. The two of them walked several blocks to where Aqua’s black Taurus was waiting for them. They got inside and Aqua drove them to her place where they put on their outfits. When they were ready Aqua then drove all of them back to the twins’ house. Once there, Aqua lead them up to the door and rang the doorbell. 

“I’m coming! I’m coming!” They heard Larxene yell, then a “Oh, hello Aqua.” when she opened the door. 

“Hi Aunt Larxene. Can I come in for a minute? I forgot something last time I was here.” Aqua lied. “And don’t mind my friends.” 

“Sure, come on in.” Larxene responded as her eyes wandered beyond the blue-haired woman. “Wait a minute.” Larxene’s eyes narrowed. “Sora, Vanitas, why are you wearing girls clothing?” 

“Oh, come on!” Sora exclaimed. “We didn’t even get a chance to do anything and you recognized us!” 

“Is that what this is? Are you trying trick us into thinking your girls?” Larxene asked and the boys nodded. “Well you’re definitely not going to do that with those nails,” she stated, stepping past Aqua and pulled Vanitas’ hand towards her. “Ugh, do you even try to take care of them? Let’s give you a two a manicure and then you’ll be set.” 

Before the boys could either agree or protest, Larxene had grabbed them both and dragged them into the house, followed by an amused Aqua. Once beyond the entryway Lexaeus appeared from the kitchen, a pot holder in hand and the aroma of cookies around him. 

“Who was it Larxene?” He asked, then stopped, staring blankly at the twins. 

“Nice to meet you-” Vanitas began in his girl voice. 

“What are you two doing.” Lexaeus said flatly. 

Both boys pouted in frustration. 

Larxene waved a hand lazily. “They’re just trying to trick us into thinking they’re girls. I’m going to do their nails now and those macadamia cookies would be appreciated.” 

Lexaeus nodded and retreated back into the kitchen. 

* * *

Whether Vanitas and Sora wanted to or not, they got manicures and a lecture on how to properly maintain their nail polish. When they finally escaped Larxene’s clutches Aqua drove them to Yakuza 13’s headquarters where the rest of the twins’ parents had been roped into having a paperwork day. The twins thought they might have trouble getting into the compound if they were unrecognizable but to their surprise the guards on duty seemed to know Aqua and believed her when she said her friends were trustworthy. 

Once they entered, they found Saix standing at a desk talking to the secretaries. Saix looked up when they walked in and didn’t stop staring while they approached. 

“Sora, Vanitas, what are you doing?” he questioned when they were close enough for normal conversation. The two secretaries stared wide-eyed at their bosses’ children at this pronouncement. 

Vanitas scowled and Sora immediately pouted, crossing his arms. “Nothing.” 

Aqua was the one to respond, “They’re trying to see if they can trick all of you into thinking they’re girls.” 

“I… see.” Saix hesitated but decided not to question their motives. “Just don’t bother the others too much, they still need to turn in all their paperwork by the end of the day.” He then turned back to continue his discussion with the secretaries. “Make sure Axel doesn’t get out until after he’s turned in all 50 pages of his late paperwork. And if you need help...” 

It would be suspicious if Vanitas and Sora, who were supposedly newcomers, took the lead when going through the building so they let Aqua go ahead, with the twins giving her pointers in what direction they should head in for the closest office. 

Zexion glanced up at his doorway. “Aqua? You shouldn’t be here.” He said, getting up from his desk and approached her. 

Aqua gave Zexion a soft smile. “Sorry, my friends couldn’t resist checking the place out.” The practiced lie came out smooth but Zexion narrowed his eyes suspiciously and glanced over at the two girls Aqua had brought with and frowned. 

“Vanitas and Sora, what on Earth are you wearing?” Zexion asked in disbelief. 

* * *

And so it went with the rest of the parents recognizing the twins right away and after a quick explanation the twins would move on to find the next one. It was humiliating for the boys, though Marluxia did give them some acting tips when they visited him. They had some trouble finding Vexen, but one of his underlings had said he was avoiding his paperwork in his secondary lab. 

When they found Vexen his back was to them as he fiddled with something on an operational table. 

“Um, hello?” Aqua called. 

“Hang on a minute.” Vexen said. There was few electric sparks and a muttered, “There, that’ll do,” before Vexen turned around. 

And immediately jumped back in shock, his hands grasping the edge of the table as he bumped into it and knocked a tray of tools onto the floor. A ‘what’ escaped Vexen’s lips but it was more an exclamation of surprise than a question. 

Aqua, Vanitas, and Sora shot each other confused looks, but Vexen quickly recovered himself. 

“Why didn’t anyone tell me you boys were transgender?” Vexen demanded. 

The twins eyes widened, that was not a response they expected. “Uh, Doc we’re not-” Vanitas began. 

“Oh I’m so sorry Vanitas.” Vexen was wringing his hands nervously, “You probably want me to use female pronouns.” 

“Doc, that’s not it.” Sora stated, but before he could explain further Vexen interrupted again. 

“You’re right Sora, I mean uh. You two probably have different names you’d like me to call you.” Vexen sputtered for a bit. “And if you’d like surgery we could do that too. It might take me a bit to become familiar with the procedure, but it should be doable.” 

Sora and Vanitas instantly locked their knees together and brought their hands to cover a part of them they had never contemplated losing. 

“No thanks!” Sora squeaked out and the twins scuttled out of the lab as fast as they could, leaving Aqua to explain the situation to a sorely confused Vexen. 

* * *

After Aqua found the twins hiding in the male bathroom- she had asked Uncle Roxas to check- she dropped them off at their house. Aqua and the rest of her family had plans to go out that day before she and Terra went back to their respective colleges on Sunday and therefore couldn’t stick around. 

Once Sora and Vanitas had changed into their usual clothing they began discussing the bet they had made. It didn’t take them long to decide that there was no winner as the parents had identified them both right away. Sora figured the bet was null and void and was about to leave his bedroom to go for a run when Vanitas spoke up. 

“What about Riku and Kairi?” 

“Huh?” Sora backtracked into his room where Vanitas was digging through the dresser for something. “What about them?” 

Vanitas rolled his eyes. “We could try and fool them, see which one of us they figure is crossdressing first. They haven’t known us as long as the parentals so they should be easier to fool.” He pulled out a T-shirt, studied it, shook his head and tossed it to the floor. 

Sora frowned in thought. “I guess we could?” he said hesitantly. 

“Excellent, I already called them and arranged for us to meet tomorrow.” Vanitas stated, pulling out another shirt. 

“Wait, what?” Sora exclaimed. 

Deciding the shirt was what he wanted Vanitas took it and began to head out of the room. “Don’t worry.” Vanitas said, patting Sora on the shoulder as he passed him. “Aqua said she could come by and help us with the makeup before she leaves.” 

* * *

Ven slurped at his slushy, contemplating with his cheek braced against his fist as he sat at a food court table. He had been hanging out with his friend at the mall to celebrate them both recently getting their driver’s licenses. But after receiving a call his friend had to head home early to take care of his sister who had gotten sick. So now Ven could either check the mall out by himself or head home. 

A shiver ran down Ventus’s spine and he looked up to see someone striding towards him in a black sweater and pink skirt. Said person slid into the seat next to Ven and leaned in close so their breath was ghosting against Ventus’ neck, Ven could only stare in disbelief. 

“Hey cutie,” they cooed into Ventus’s ear. 

Ven couldn’t stop his lips from twitching up in amusement. The person took this as encouragement and pressed on. “Want to take me home and show me what it takes to be a man?” 

Ventus burst out laughing and the flirter drew back displeased. 

Struggling for breath, Ven managed to choke out “Vanitas, that was terrible. What are you doing?” 

Vanitas’s eyes narrowed in anger and he spoke in his normal voice. “You knew?” 

“Well, yeah.” 

Before Vanitas could respond, Sora had arrived at their table. “Vanitas! This is where you went.” He glanced over to the other occupant and gave a smile, “Oh! Hi Ven!” 

Ven had just managed to overcome his laughter of Vanitas flirting with him dressed as a girl, but released another string of giggles at seeing Sora in a dress and only waved back. When he had himself under control, Ventus asked again. “Seriously, what are you two up to? Last I checked you didn’t have an interest in wearing girls’ clothes.” 

Since Vanitas was pouting, arms crossed over his chest and muttering under his breath, Sora thought it would be best if he explained. 

Ven listened to the story with amusement. 

“So,” Sora stated once he was finished. “Want to help us?” 

* * *

Riku and Kairi sat on a bench in front of a CeilMart discussing why Vanitas wanted them to meet some supposed friends of theirs. Both of them had learned long ago from being friends with Sora, and therefore Vanitas, that it was better to simply roll with whatever plots Vanitas came up with than try and stop them. But that didn’t mean they couldn’t be as prepared as possible. 

“Hey Kairi, Riku!” The two looked up to see Ven waving and smiling cheerily with two girls following him. “Sorry you had to wait, it took us a while to meet up.” 

“Heya Ven” Kairi smiled and called back. “Happy belated birthday!” 

Riku repeated the sentiment then asked warily, “Who are these people with you?” 

Ven grinned wider as he dramatically indicated towards Sora like he was a game show host, “This is Ophelia.” 

Slightly nervous, Sora just barely remembered to use his falsetto before saying “Nice to meet you.” No one seemed to notice anything, though Kairi had been looking at them slightly suspiciously ever since they approached despite her cheery greeting to Ven. 

Ven shifted to indicate Vanitas “And this is Violet.” He then gestured at the bench. “Meet Kairi and Riku.” 

‘Violet’ smirked and purred a “hello” sending a suggestive glance at Riku, who blushed. 

The cover story Ven gave for the twins was that Ophelia and Violet were friends that were in town for a short while and that Sora and Vanitas wanted to show them around but weren’t available to do so and requested that Riku and Kairi hang out with the ‘girls’ instead. 

With introductions over the teens went out to explore the mall. The first thing they checked out was the arcade. Sora and Vanitas had to concentrate to keep up the charade so they avoided their usual games and tried to keep their chatter to minimum without appearing stand-offish. After the arcade the group wandered the mall, checking out whatever shop caught their attention. As this went on, Vanitas began to trail behind. The clothes he was wearing were beginning to feel uncomfortable, the sweater was too scratchy and the skirt was too short and he didn’t like some of the looks strangers gave him as he walked by. When he was a fair distance away from the others, Vanitas hid behind a decorative tree and reached underneath his sweater to adjust things. As he started to move away a male’s voice spoke next to him. 

“Hey pretty lady, what’s your sign?” The man slurred. 

Surprised, Vanitas turned towards the man, revealing a pudgy, balding man in a rumpled suit who looked up and down Vanitas’ body lecherously. 

Vanitas tilted his head back and glared down his nose. “Not your type. So go away.” 

“Come on hunny.” The man pleaded as Vanitas began to walk away. “Let me show what a real man is like.” 

Oh god. Is that what Vanitas had sounded like? Why hadn’t Ventus just punched him? Vanitas ignored the man and continued to walk away. 

The man caught up and grabbed Vanitas’ wrist “Don’t be like that sweetie. I can show you a good time.” 

Yanking his hand from the man Vanitas spun around to face him and put all the anger he could behind his glare. “Don’t touch me,” he said lowly. This close he could smell the alcohol on the other man’s breath. “If you do so again, you’ll regret it.” 

The man’s eyes narrowed and his face became red with rage. “Don’t tell me what to do, sluts like you should be good and do what they’re told.” He then reached out and grabbed Vanitas’s chest. But there was a whirl of colors and the man found himself lying on his belly with his arm being pulled so hard his shoulder ached and a boot grinding his face into the floor. 

“I said,” Vanitas spat, his voice deepening to his normal tone, “don’t touch me.” He then yanked on the man’s arm, causing him to cry out. “And learn some respect.” 

“Vanitas?” A voice called out. 

Vanitas glanced up to find Riku staring wide-eyed at him, an ice cream cone in each hand and the others arranged beside him. “Crap.” Vanitas swore. 

Seemingly oblivious to the man underneath Vanitas’ feet, Riku asked, “Why are you dressed as a girl?” 

A blush started to creep up Vanitas’ cheeks but he pushed it down as he stepped off the man. He couldn’t tell Riku that he had partially arranged this day just to catch the silver-haired teen’s eye. 

As Vanitas tried to sputter out a coherent answer a crowd began to gather. Realizing that the last thing two crossdressing children of Yakuza needed was a scene, Sora grabbed onto Vanitas's wrist with two hands and calmly stated in his falsetto, “We should get out of here.” With a strong tug he began leading Vanitas briskly away as the rest followed. The pace was fast enough that Vanitas kept tripping in his heels but Sora didn’t stop until they were safely in the parking lot. 

Once they had stopped Vanitas began wobbling. Riku stepped up beside Vanitas and grabbed him by the elbow, giving him support. “Are you alright?” He murmured. 

With a grateful smirk, Vanitas responded with an “I’m fine.” Then pulled his arm from Riku so he could rest a hand on the other teens shoulder as he pulled off his shoes. “These heels are killing me, that’s all.” After his shoes were off, Vanitas gave Riku’s shoulder a squeeze before letting go, enjoying the muscle tone he could feel there. 

Kairi began to laugh, “To think, that all I had to do to get Sora to check out clothes with me was to have him make a bet with Vanitas.” 

Riku turned towards Kairi with wide eyes, “You knew? Wait,” he turned to the brunette, “Sora?” 

Sora smiled guiltily and shrugged “You got me.” 

“I didn’t know right away.” Kairi explained. “But I figured it out pretty quick. I had Sora explain it while you and Ven were in the bathroom.” 

“Oh.” Riku looked down at his feet, embarrassed that he hadn’t noticed until Vanitas had completely broken character. 

“I’m parked pretty close to here.” Ven said cheerily, coming back from where he had wandered down the sidewalk. “I can take Vanitas and Sora home so they don’t have to risk going through the mall again if you two want to head back.” There was a general consensus to this and everyone decided it was best to head home for now. 

* * *

Vanitas plopped face first into Sora’s bed with a groan, then turned over to stare at the ceiling, holding onto a pillow. “That was a disaster.” 

“Aw, come on,” Sora said comfortingly from the floor where he was carefully putting away Marluxia’s wig. “It could have been worse.” 

“How so? Ven saw right through us, I got accosted by a drunk and worst of all I totally lost our bet!” Vanitas complained. 

Sora hesitated, “Well, when you put it that way, it does seem pretty bad. But everything came out okay right?” 

“I guess so.” Vanitas sighed. 

“And look at the bright side!” Sora said warmly. “I’m pretty sure Riku has a crush on you!” 

Vanitas brought the pillow up to cover his face. “Shut up. That doesn’t have to do with anything.” 

Sora smiled knowingly before sitting on top of Vanitas’ stomach, purposefully squishing him. “Whatever you say. But now that that’s over, you wanna help me in Corona? I’m going through on legendary and a second player would be helpful.” 

Vanitas wriggled and tried to push Sora off, but he was surprisingly heavy. “Fine. Fine! I’ll help. Just stop crushing me!” 

Sora jumped up happily. “Alright! Let’s get started, those trophies won’t win themselves you know!” 

With that, the crossdressing event was put behind them. Simply another moment in the life of Sora and Vanitas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, about Riku's sister: Rebecca, Replica, sound similar? (How Repliku became older than Riku, and a girl, is not something we can explain. It just kinda happened).  
> Secondly, we ended up creating a tumblr for this series: https://omness-yamarik.tumblr.com/ It's pretty empty thus far, but it does have a couple mini-chapters that we ended up not posting here on ao3, and there will be more in the future.


	9. Vroom Vroom: Age - 15/16

“Boys, are you going to come downstairs or not?” Xemnas bellowed impatiently up the stairs. He did not like to wait for anything, and also they were supposed to be watching a movie that everyone had assured him was really good. 

There was no verbal answer, but a crashing sound like the house was coming down indicated the twins were on their way. The parents might have suspected Vanitas was making the noise on purpose, but they had learned that actually it was Sora who came down the stairs like an avalanche as Vanitas got more pleasure from a silent approach. 

The boys joined their parents in the basement, but didn’t sit down. Instead, they stood in front of the TV screen, something they wanted to address to all their parents clearly on their minds. 

“Can it wait?” Xemnas asked with a sigh. Vanitas shrugged and moved to sit down, but Sora wasn’t going to be deterred. 

“We wanna learn to drive,” Sora announced. 

No one said a word as Sora’s request sank in. 

“Okay, well if that will be all,” Xemnas said in a warning tone. Sora nodded and took his seat, and the movie began. But of the fourteen parents present, not a single one was paying attention to the movie. 

* * *

“The first thing you boys will need to do is study this,” Xaldin said, slapping down a driver’s guide on the table. “You must know every law in here before you can get your learner’s permits.” 

Vanitas was sitting with his head propped against one arm. With his free hand, he reached over and gingerly pulled back the paper cover of the book. 

“A red light is the symbol to stop,” he read in a bored voice. “Running a red light is illegal. No shit.” 

“Vanitas, language,” Xaldin snapped. Vanitas ignored him and closed the book, reopening it to another page at random. 

“Be sure to signal your turns at least 100 yards in advance,” he read. “Yeah, because I’m totally going to measure how far I am from where I’m gonna turn. Do you think we’re stupid? Do you seriously expect us to read this boring-ass piece of crap before you’re going to let us learn to drive?” 

“If you don’t stop swearing I’m going to take the toilet brush to that potty mouth of yours,” Xaldin warned. “And for your information, for you to get your permits, you must first take a written examination based on the laws they have written out for you in this boring-donkey piece of poop. So you better read it, and be prepared to answer questions on it.” Xaldin glared and Vanitas sighed in defeat. 

“Fine,” he mumbled. 

Xaldin smiled. “That’s better. Oh, and that little test you’ll have to take includes a bunch of trick questions. Be sure you don’t let them trip you up,” he added sweetly. Luckily, he left the room after that. 

“Dangit, I just wanna learn to drive. Not any of this stupid, nit-picky, fusspot, rules that no one follows anyways,” Vanitas complained. 

“Well you have to know the rules to be a good driver,” Sora replied. He was already reaching across the table for the book. 

“Hey, I’m reading that,” Vanitas said, snatching up the book before his twin could take it. Sora rolled his eyes, but let Vanitas have his way. He watched in amusement as Vanitas flipped to random pages, read a single sentence out loud, and then made some sarcastic comment about it before putting the book down in disgust, only to pick it back up and repeat. 

Zexion came rushing into the room, peering around anxiously. 

“If you’re looking for the slave-driver, he just left,” Vanitas said. 

“You two. A moment please,” Zexion said after confirming no one else was in the room. 

“Um, yes?” Sora replied. 

“Whatever you do, DO NOT let Xemnas teach you to drive. He’s the worst teacher ever. And Demyx might just get you killed. And Xaldin’s really impatient and Lexaeus drives a stick and Xigbar will make things needlessly complicated. And Vexen… don’t tell him I said this, but of them all he was the best teacher and that’s not saying a whole lot. And Luxord will probably get drunk before getting in the car with you, or he’ll spend the whole time praying you don’t crash. As for the rest… I can’t really vouch for them. Thankfully I had managed to get my license by the time they came along, though no thanks to the rest of them.” 

“Wait, you mean our other dads taught you how to drive?” Sora asked. Zexion nodded. 

“I was only 15 when I joined,” he reminded them. 

“Right, so basically you, Saix, Axel, Marluxia, Larxene, and Roxas and Xion are the only ones we can ask to teach us to drive?” Vanitas asked. 

“Basically, rather than asking us, you should have just gone to Eraqus,” Zexion said, and swept out of the room. 

“I know we have a rather unconventional family situation and all, but I don’t think I ever expected this much of an ado about us learning to drive,” Vanitas told Sora. 

Sora said nothing. When Zexion had come in, Vanitas had put the manual down, and Sora had taken advantage of the distraction to get ahold of it. Maybe Vanitas wanted to be snarky about this, but that was his prerogative. Sora had some studying to do. 

* * *

Over the next few weeks, Sora studied the manual, and Vanitas made sarcastic comments on better uses for the book. However, a couple times when Sora got up to get something to drink late at night, he snuck a peak at Vanitas studying the manual by flashlight. It was typical Vanitas, to act like he didn’t care but then put lots of effort into it. It could be frustrating at times, but Sora loved this side of his brother. 

After three weeks had passed, Xaldin quizzed the boys relentlessly on the information in the manual, and both of them passed with flying colors. They did just as good on their tests for their permits, and came home with temporary cards until their actual permits came in the mail. They were ready to drive. 

Sora accepted the first driving lesson. When Roxas offered, Sora couldn’t resist the temptation to learn. However, the lesson only lasted five minutes, as there was a loud sound and then Sora came back into the house in tears, with Roxas following him and trying to assure him that anyone might have hit the mailbox, and it wasn’t like they even used it anyways. 

The next incident happened when Vanitas and Axel were shopping together. Of all the parents, Axel had the best idea of what kind of clothes Vanitas liked, which Saix insisted was because that was the kind of stuff Axel would wear if he were still a teenager himself. After a successful trip to Cold Subject, they returned to the car. While Vanitas was putting the spoils of the day’s shopping into the back seat, Axel got into the passenger side, and refused to move. They stayed there for hours, until after the mall closed, before Vanitas finally caved in because at the rate they were going he wouldn’t get home in time for the pho they’d been promised for dinner or the season finale of his favorite show. He actually managed to get them home in one piece, but it was a nerve-wracking experience for a first time driver, even if that person was someone as imperturbable as Vanitas. 

While the two events might not have been absolute proof that their parents were bad teachers, Sora and Vanitas decided to heed the advice they’d been given, and turned to Eraqus. 

“I suppose it won’t be too much of a bother, since I’m already teaching Ventus, but the three of you will have to take turns,” Eraqus told them. 

The twins exchanged alarmed looks. They hadn’t thought about the fact that Ventus was also learning to drive and that their uncle didn’t have enough spare time to give them all individual lessons. Neither of them liked the prospect of shared lessons, since by now Ventus almost certainly had started to get the hang of this driving thing, and the difference in skill levels between him and them would be humiliating. 

“Dad, why don’t Aqua and I help out?” Terra asked. “We should be old enough since we just turned 21, right?” 

Vanitas resisted the urge to stick out his tongue. Terra was really enjoying throwing it in his face that he was a legal adult now. Since his and Aqua’s birthday, Terra had taken to texting Vanitas pictures of him at bars and clubs and places that Vanitas couldn’t get into, and it was infuriating. Terra, meanwhile, was relishing the fact that for once he was irritating Vanitas as much as Vanitas liked to irritate him. 

“Are you sure?” Eraqus asked. “I thought you didn’t like the drive.” 

“That’s Aqua. I like the drive just fine, except when she puts in one of her screamo cds.” 

“Well then I guess you just need to make sure Aqua’s okay with it.” 

* * *

“Are you sure we can’t trade?” Terra asked, trying not to whine. 

“Hey, you’re the one who came up with this system of choosing a student. Besides, I think this is karma’s way of letting you know it was rude of you to just volunteer me,” Aqua said. 

“Dad?” Terra asked, pleading. 

“Sorry, but fair is fair,” Eraqus said. 

Terra sighed. Of the three student drivers, why did he of all people have to be the one to teach Vanitas? Vanitas liked Aqua and respected Eraqus, so he’d listen to either of them. But he loved nothing more than to mock Terra, and would probably be impossible all day. 

With a sigh Terra headed off to pick up Vanitas. Why had he offered to help? As Aqua had so kindly pointed out, he really had no one to blame but himself. But he hadn’t expected to end up teaching Vanitas! He’d thought he’d end up teaching Sora, or better yet, teaching Ven. 

At least it was only for today. He and his sister and dad had all agreed that every weekend they would draw names out of a hat to choose a student for the day. That way they could try and balance out the habits each of them would be bringing into their lessons. 

Terra pulled up and rang the doorbell, saying that he was there for Vanitas and even informing Marluxia that Eraqus would be around in twenty or so minutes for Sora. When Vanitas came out, he had a fresh new dye job. Ever since he’d turned 14, Vanitas had been cycling through hair dyes, getting a new color every couple of months. The latest color was a bright yellow that matched Vanitas’s eyes, but also closely resembled Ven’s hair. 

As Vanitas got into the car, he told Terra “If you tell me I look like Ven or call me Ven or say anything about my hair, so help me I will crash this car. This is only because I wanted a pastel color.” 

Terra had a feeling that what was really going on was that Vanitas had wanted his hair to match his eyes, not realizing that this would make him blonde. He said nothing as he pulled out of the driveway and drove out to the parking lot where they’d be having their lesson. From what Terra had heard, he’d need to start with the basics. 

After the two of them switched seats and the lesson began in earnest, Terra found himself caught off guard with how attentive and obedient Vanitas was. There were no sarcastic comments, and if Terra said to slow down, Vanitas actually applied the brakes. Terra had thought that if he’d said to slow down, Vanitas would accelerate a little first just to scare him. 

They ran through most of the basics. Terra had Vanitas drive across the parking lot to see if he could maintain speed, which he did. Vanitas also managed his turns well, though he did like to make them a little tighter than they needed to be. Terra had Vanitas practice his parking next, which did give Vanitas a little trouble, so they spent the rest of the lesson on it. Finally, as they neared the end of the allotted time, Terra looked at Vanitas. 

“So do you already have that new dye color you wanted, or did you want to try stopping at the store on your way home?” He figured that after Vanitas had been so well-behaved, he deserved a reward. 

Vanitas did well on the road, and they made it to the store without incident. It took a couple of tries, but Vanitas managed to park on his own, though he agreed that Terra should probably drive them home since he was still nervous about backing out of parking spots. They went in and Vanitas looked over the dyes. He eyed a silvery blue color, but then dismissed it because he didn’t want to look like Riku or seem like he was trying to copy Aqua. Eventually he settled for a bright orange, and they paid and went home. 

As Vanitas got out of the car, he surprised Terra. “Erm, th-thank you. For, uh, you know. Y-you were a pretty good teacher. Thanks.” He scurried away before Terra could even ask what drugs he was on. 

That evening, Terra got treated to a discussion on how each of the students had done that day. Apparently Sora was terrified and it was nearly impossible to convince him to get the car above a crawl. Ventus, meanwhile, had done well but when Aqua had tried to take him on the highway they’d had to get off at the first exit and pull into a gas station so that Ven could calm down. He had, however, then done very well pumping gas for the first time. 

Over the next few weeks, the driving lessons continued. Eventually they reached the point where the boys were able to drive with their parents, and even learned how to drive a stick shift. Eventually, Ventus turned 16, and took his test. A few weeks later, Sora and Vanitas also had their birthday, and got to head to the DMV. They all passed, although Ventus did struggle when he was the only one of the three to get tested on his ability to parallel park. 

One week later, Terra received a card in the mail at his apartment at school. All it said was “I couldn’t have done it without you. Thanks for being the best driving teacher.” Terra thought maybe it was from Sora or Ven, but then he realized that the car on the front of the card was a minivan. 

“Oh Vanitas,” Terra laughed. “You’re really something.”


	10. Zequa: Age - 16

While she was little more than an hour away from home when she was off at school, Aqua did enjoy the breaks between semesters. She didn’t have to worry about getting groceries and planning meals, since her dad did that, and she could spend more time with her brothers and the twins. And Zexion. 

It wasn’t that she didn’t see him when she was at school. He’d drive up sometimes for the evening or to get lunch (which was really sweet because that was a lot of driving for so little time spent together), but she was so busy studying, and while she appreciated him helping her study and recognizing that it was her priority for the moment, she did want a little more out of their relationship than him knowing what kind of coffee she liked best and what the signs she really needed it were, and her friends going into shock when they asked him where he got his PhD only to find out he never even completed high school. 

They said they were dating, but it didn’t feel like it. So she had hoped that maybe being at home would give her a chance to change that. 

She hadn’t counted on the fact that being at home meant _being at home_. With her brothers. And her dad. Who most certainly would not approve of her dating an older guy, least of all a member of the Yakuza 13. 

So here she was, home for the summer, and after three weeks of being here, she had seen her boyfriend a whopping total of once. In passing. This was worse than at school. She even had to be careful texting him now, after an incident where she’d been texting him and her dad had wanted to know who she was talking to so much that she hadn’t heard Ven asking for help with his homework. 

“Aqua?” She jumped a little at the sound of Terra’s voice. 

“Yes?” 

“Dad says we’re invited to movie night at Sora and Vanny’s tomorrow night.” 

“Oh. Okay.” After a moment, the meaning of what Terra had told her set in. Movie night at Sora and Vanitas’s was a Yakuza 13 tradition in which they all gathered. Including Zexion. Maybe they could sit together, and hold hands a little, and it would almost be like a proper date. It was very hard not to squeal in excitement. Instead she calmly waited until she was sure Terra was gone and pulled out her phone. 

* * *

The screen of Zexion’s phone lit up. He preferred to keep it on silent, since the ringer was never quiet enough, and all the tones were obnoxious anyways. And if it was on vibrate that was even worse. 

He swiped open the screen and saw that it was a text from Aqua. Apparently someone had gone ahead and invited Eraqus and his kids to their movie night. He calmly darkened the screen and put his phone away. If he hadn’t been in the middle of a meeting, he might have even done a “fist pump,” as this was very good news. Sure, they’d be surrounded by the other members of the thirteen, and also the boys and Eraqus and her brothers, but at least he’d get to see her. It was really hard sometimes, when she was constantly in his thoughts but he couldn’t even talk to her. 

However, things rarely go as one would like. If Aqua and Zexion had thought they might quietly sit together on the couch, and in the dark she might lean her head on his shoulder a little and nothing would happen really, but nothing had to happen at the moment, but if they had thought that would be the case on this evening, they were dead wrong. Painfully so. 

The moment Eraqus and his kids arrived, Terra, Aqua, and Ven were mobbed by the twins. Sora and Vanitas had seen their “cousins” a few times since Terra and Aqua got back from school, but they still wanted to hang out more. Normally Aqua was happy to humor them, but as she was dragged right past Zexion to sit with the twins, her cheerfulness felt distinctly strained. There was no way for Zexion to subtly join them, or for her to quietly move away, since the twins brought her to sit front and center. She was trapped. 

Both Aqua and Zexion resigned themselves to being apart tonight. It was somehow lonelier, being in the same room but with enough people in between they might as well have been miles away. 

Since no one had anywhere to be the next morning, it was decided they would watch four movies. About halfway through the second, the twins ran out of popcorn, and Aqua volunteered to go make more. She sighed as she left the den, and went up the stairs. Before she reached the kitchen however, she ran into someone. 

“Sorry,” she and the other person said at the same time, and then they both gasped. Aqua had run into Zexion. 

After so long, they both felt rather tongue tied. Aqua recovered (if you could call it that) first. 

“We ran out of popcorn, so I, uh…” 

“Ah,” he nodded, perhaps more vigorously than normal. “I was, uh, the uh…” he gestured vaguely towards the hallway where the bathroom was. Aqua nodded back. Silence reigned again. 

“So, uh, you were heading to the kitchen?” he asked after the pause had dragged on to agony. 

“Yeah.” 

“Well,” he said, and his voice cracked a little. That was embarrassing. “I could come with you?” 

“Yeah.” She nodded brightly. Did she know how to say anything other than “yeah”? 

He took the bowl from her as they headed to the kitchen together. With his free hand, he took hers. They both felt that this moment couldn’t get much better. 

It could, however, get worse. As they entered the kitchen, Luxord looked up from where he was sneaking a drink, and almost dropped his glass. 

“You have GOT to be kidding me,” he said. His voice was quite loud, which meant he’d probably been drinking a fair bit. Not surprising, since Xion had chosen the vampire romance _Daybreak_ for the most recent movie. 

“Luxord, sh,” Zexion said, trying to quiet the other man before the whole house heard. 

“That girly you were talking about? That was HER? That was our very own Aqua?!” Did Luxord have to shout like that? 

No, he didn’t, but at the same time he really did. 

If they had hoped things would go down quietly, they were wrong. Demyx had been headed up the stairs in order to escape the movie, and had overheard. He quickly bounded back down the stairs, eager to spread such juicy gossip. 

“Guys, Aqua has a boyfriend!” he exclaimed, bursting into the room. The twins and Ventus exchanged surprised glances, as this was news to them. Terra frowned, and those near Eraqus could have sworn they heard his jaw crack. Meanwhile, the entirety of the Yakuza 13, minus the members who were already in the kitchen, swarmed up the stairs to the kitchen, where Luxord was still raising a fuss. 

The first through the door was Larxene, who was quite fast. She was in time to see Zexion and Aqua quickly drop hands as they whirled around, looking guilty. 

“Oh. My. God. Zexion?” she exclaimed. Mutters went through the growing cluster. 

“Zexion?” 

“The robot has a girlfriend?” 

“You mean he has feelings?” 

“No way, not that guy.” 

“Wait, I thought that we were here because Aqua had a boyfriend?” 

“Ohmigod, Zexion’s dating Aqua?!?” 

Sora and Vanitas arrived, and while Sora had had his suspicions, Vanitas was stunned. Aqua, whom they had both had crushes on when they were younger, whom they called their cousin, who was one of their bestest friends, their Aqua, was dating one of their dads? It was weird, but then again, she had kinda been a mom to them herself. 

Eraqus materialized in the kitchen doorway, and Zexion felt his knees turn to jelly. He was dead. So very, very dead. He had been in situations with bullets flying and knife fights and once a miniature explosion, as well as other situations that very well ought to have killed him. This was more terrifying than all those times combined. 

“Dad, calm down,” Aqua said. Before she could think of anything to add, Eraqus spoke up. 

“Zexion. What gives you the right to date my little girl?” He paused, but clearly did not expect an answer. “What makes you think that you are anywhere near good enough for her?” His voice rose to a shout. He then left another dramatic pause, partly to keep his face from breaking into a grin. He certainly wasn’t happy to find out his daughter was dating one of his nephew’s thugs, least of all one who was so cold-blooded, but he had been planning this speech since she reached middle school, and he relished the chance to use it. He continued in a low voice perfectly audible as even the walls were holding their breath for what came next. 

“If you ever hurt her, I will come after you. I will hurt you back. And do not forget, I am a lawyer. If I can get you lot off for some of the charges you rack up, I can certainly prove that whatever I do to you was justifiable, no matter how extreme it may be.” 

Eraqus turned on his heel and marched off. With a murmur, the crowd also departed, albeit more slowly. The drama was over. As would be the movie soon. Only Xion regretted this fact. After all, the scene they had just witnessed was far better than some sappy romance. 

As Luxord left, he pressed his latest drink into Zexion’s hand. “You’ll be needing this, then, eh?” 

Aqua would have stuck around, but Terra didn’t give her the chance. He stuck stubbornly by her side for the rest of the night, refusing to talk to her after he hissed at her “What were you thinking, Aqua?” Ventus had whispered to her after that, “He’ll come around.” She wasn’t sure which “he” Ventus was referring too. 

Only Sora and Vanitas stayed with Zexion in the kitchen. 

“You’re really dating Aqua?” Vanitas asked, his eyes like saucers. Zexion nodded numbly, and Vanitas whistled. “Well, this is going to be interesting,” he murmured. 

* * *

The next afternoon, Aqua was out with Ven shooting hoops. After the scene last night, Zexion had left early. It had been disappointing, but she wasn’t exactly surprised. Luxord had also cleared out after the third movie, which was wise as she was feeling mildly homicidal towards him. He’d ruined everything. 

As they walked home, they spotted Terra coming towards them, looking disgusted. 

“Your boyfriend came over,” he told Aqua. She tried not to get too excited, or to worry about the fact that she was sweating like a pig and probably stank and what if she saw him before she had a chance to shower? Not that she was even guaranteed to see him at all. 

“Terra, I’m sure he’s not so bad,” Ventus ventured. Terra sighed. 

“I know. I know none of them are bad, really. But Aqua, are you really okay with dating a guy who’s that much older than you?” 

As they reached the house, Aqua didn’t answer, and instead hurried through the front door. Still she found it amusing that Terra was more concerned about her dating an older guy than the fact that said older guy was a higher-up in a gang. 

Terra and Ventus were right behind her as she peeked into their father’s tea room. They could see Eraqus and Zexion kneeling, facing each other. Zexion’s back was to them. They had time to glimpse cups of sake that their second cousins had sent when Eraqus looked up and sent them scurrying with a glare. This was a private talk. Sighing, Aqua went to take a shower, hoping to at least be able to walk Zexion out when he left. 

* * *

Zexion’s heart wouldn’t stop pounding. Eraqus wouldn’t ever attack him, yet he was far more terrifying than the other members of the Yakuza 13 who were all people who would attack, and without any more provocation than scratching your nose. 

He had to make the right impression here. He had to prove to Eraqus that he was serious about Aqua, and that she was what mattered most to him. And that was why he had showed up here, dressed in a suit and bearing a gift of a wine recommended by Marluxia. He had even prepared a speech for Eraqus, but the words had somehow dried up before even leaving his mouth. 

Maybe he should have brought more than wine. Food? Art? Books? He should definitely have brought books. From things Aqua had said, he knew a little bit about Eraqus’s tastes in reading, and he knew books better than just about anyone. Why hadn’t he thought to bring books? 

Eraqus cleared his throat, and Zexion felt sweat break out on the back of his neck. 

“I appreciate you going to all this trouble, but I still find it difficult to entrust my daughter to you. You see, I am aware of your past.” 

His past. Of course. It was both surprising and yet completely normal that Eraqus knew his past. And if he knew about that it was obvious he wouldn’t want Aqua dating Zexion. 

After his parents had been killed back when he was 14, Zexion had spent the following year honing his fighting skills, and had then gone and defeated one of the top members of the Yakuza 13 in order to join them. Once part of the organization, it had been a simple matter to track down the murderers and get his revenge on them. There had been a few other instances like that, which Eraqus probably was also aware of. And who would be comfortable with their daughter dating someone who might become a threat should they break up? 

“I won’t deny things that have happened up until now.” He wanted to add a “but”, except he couldn’t think of what would follow it. Because Eraqus’s concerns were valid. He loved Aqua so much right now, but if their relationship went sour, would he turn on her? He’d had girlfriends before and had been quite calm when they broke up, but he hadn’t felt nearly as attached to them as he was to Aqua. But didn’t that mean she was his one, and he would always love her and so even if she changed her mind he would still dislike the idea of hurting her? 

“How long?” Eraqus’s voice startled him. He’d been lost in his reverie, and had even forgotten where he was. 

“Pardon?” 

“How long have you and Aqua been dating?” 

“Four months.” 

“Four months?” 

“And six days.” 

“You’ve been keeping track quite closely.” 

“Yes sir.” 

“And have you…” the way Eraqus trailed off could only mean one thing. 

“No sir. We haven’t. We wanted to take things slowly. And I don’t want our relationship to interfere with Aqua’s studies.” 

“I’m surprised you care so much about Aqua’s education, seeing as how yours was quite limited.” 

“Aqua needs to get good grades and finish her schooling to achieve her dream. I wouldn’t get in the way of that.” 

“I see.” Eraqus sipped his sake. Zexion did the same. 

Silence lapsed. Zexion was certain he’d be kicked out any minute now. 

“Aqua,” Eraqus called. Within seconds Aqua had entered the room and was kneeling at Zexion’s side. Her hair was wet from a shower, and he could smell her shampoo. 

“Your boyfriend tells me that you’ve been dating for a while already.” 

Zexion felt doom sinking in, but Aqua’s spirits lifted. Her dad had called Zexion her boyfriend. He might just accept their relationship. 

“Yes. Since February.” 

“Yet I am only finding out about this now.” 

“Er, yes.” 

“When were you planning on telling me?” 

“I don’t know… I just thought you’d try and stop me. Or say he’s taking advantage of me or something like that.” 

“I’m not sure I shouldn’t stop it.” 

“Dad, you can trust him. When you were abroad, he really helped me out. Like I had Aerith and them to stay with, but Zexion was the one who helped me cope with a lot of things. And he helped me out when I needed a ride home from a party. He’s always there for me.” 

“I thought you went to parties to be the designated driver.” 

“My friends decided to leave early. Without me. So I was stranded.” 

“I see.” 

Eraqus poured some more sake, and passed it to Zexion, who returned the favor. They both drank, though Zexion could barely swallow his. 

“Why don’t you see your boyfriend out. And keep in mind your brothers will certainly be watching.” 

Zexion nearly choked, but Aqua jumped to her feet in glee. Eraqus was not opposed to their being a them. 

On the front porch, Aqua hugged Zexion. 

“Thanks for coming over. It was definitely a good move. I think dad’s opinion of you probably went up.” 

“Easy to go up from rock bottom.” 

“No it’s not. Dad doesn’t change his mind or impress easily.” 

After Zexion left, Aqua went inside to see her brothers both reading in the living room. Terra was perched rather precariously, like he flopped down in a hurry, and the law magazine Ventus had picked up was upside down. He hurriedly turned it, but Aqua knew they’d been spying on her. Whether at school or here at home, it was hard to have a boyfriend when there were so many watchers.


	11. Lovesick: Age - 16

Sora had been having these strange thoughts lately. Like were the things he was feeling real, or not? 

Or there were the things he was noticing all of a sudden. It was all so puzzling. 

Kairi was his friend, so why did she seem different all of a sudden? 

It definitely wasn’t anything she was doing. Her hair was the same as it had always been, still auburn, still the same length and style as it was before, but now it seemed to him like threads of copper glinting in the sunlight. And her clothes were the same too. And her behavior as well. But where they’d held hands all the time since they were kids, it suddenly made his heart race, and if they were talking, even at a normal distance she seemed too close. 

Sora had his suspicions about what this could mean. But was this really… love? 

Luckily for Sora, he had an abundance of people he could check with. He started with Vanitas. Vanitas had dated people before, so he knew about this kind of stuff, and he wasn’t old like their parents. Oh sure, Roxas was only in his 30’s, but that was still old enough that he didn’t know what being a teenager was like anymore. Vanitas knew though. 

However, that conversation was very unproductive. What Sora didn’t understand was that Vanitas’s dating experience was all due to people approaching him and him saying yes because he didn’t have anything better to do, which was why his relationships never lasted. Also, Vanitas figured not hating someone was the same as love, since he tended to only feel one or the other for people. Eventually Vanitas suggested Sora consult shoujo mangas. “They talk about that kind of stuff all the time, don’t they?” he’d said. But Sora had already gone through several, both ones he’d reread and ones Selphie had been suggesting he read for a while. And they hadn’t helped. 

Sora went to Roxas next, but unfortunately, baby Ephemer was having a tantrum and Roxas was a little preoccupied during the conversation, so things didn’t really go well. Next he tried Lexaeus, but the moment Lexaeus heard Sora mention he thought he might be falling in love, Lexaeus got all teary eyed and told Larxene, who proceeded to freak out because their little Sora was too young to be falling in love and things like that. Sora didn’t bother to point out that he was the same age as Vanitas. He’d long gotten used to his parents seeing him as being younger despite the fact that the two of them were twins, and for all any of them knew, he could even be the older twin. 

Sora was hesitant about asking the other parents. Luxord never actually dated anyone, only flirted. Zexion was dating Aqua, and they seemed to be really in love, but Zexion was horrible with emotions, so Sora had his doubts that his dad would be able to convey things in a coherent manner. Axel wouldn’t be much help, since he knew it was love the moment he and Saix met, and Saix had had a pivotal moment, whereas Sora’s feelings had been changing more gradually. Sora thought maybe Demyx had a significant other, but Demyx never mentioned them, and Sora wasn’t sure how Demyx would feel about being outed on that matter. And also Sora was just guessing. Seeing as how it was Demyx, he might have found a music store or joined a band. Xemnas would probably get annoyed talking about love, since it reminded him of the days when he had dated Maleficent, and he was still bitter about that. That left Xigbar, Xaldin, Vexen, and Marluxia. And Marluxia would be the first to tell you he was too in love with himself, his wines, his roses, and his poisons to fall in love with another human being. 

Xigbar was the first one Sora approached. 

“Hey, dad?” These days, Sora sometimes called all of his male parents dad, or by their first names. Using nicknames like Daddy and Papa and Pappy felt childish, and while he didn’t mind being childish it tended to bring about lots of teasing, so just using Dad was simpler. He stilled called Xemnas “Sir” though. He wasn’t sure he’d live if he didn’t, even though Vanitas called that particular dad by his first name all the time. 

“What’s up kiddo?” Xigbar was playing pool by himself, sinking ball after ball effortlessly. 

“Well, I was wondering… have you ever been in love?” 

Xigbar fumbled the stick and the cue went spinning wildly across the table, completely missing the ball Xigbar had been aiming for and eventually falling into one of the side pockets. Xigbar stared wide-eyed at the tabletop, though Sora doubted he’d even seen what had just happened with the flubbed shot. Apparently he should have given Xigbar some warning. 

“Dad? Daddy? Daddy Xigbar?” Sometimes it was good to be childish with the parents. He had to show them he was growing up, yes, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t still be their little boy. 

“Wha- no, sorry. Um, sorry Sor, I, uh, heh, I can’t say I have. Y’know. Been in love. Never.” Xigbar was very nervous, and didn’t meet Sora’s eyes. Sora must have really caught him off guard, if such an accomplished liar could become so transparent. Vanitas would give his kidneys to achieve such a reaction. Sora meanwhile, said “well thanks anyways” and left, pondering who Xigbar had been- or was currently- in love with, and why was he so fervent in his denial? 

Next was Vexen. Sora hated to judge by appearance, but Xaldin was so intimidating, Sora couldn’t imagine him having anything to do with love and romance. 

Sora found Vexen in one of the labs, the same fateful lab where a year and a half previously, Vexen had offered to give him and Vanitas sex change operations. Stealing himself, Sora approached. 

“Not now, I’m busy,” Vexen said, not even looking up to see who it was. He had his recipe book in front of him, and appeared to be organizing it. Since it wasn’t anything dangerous like some of his experiments could be, Sora decided to plunge ahead. 

“Doc, could I just have a second? It’s kinda important” 

“List your symptoms, and I’ll decide if it’s important.” Vexen still hadn’t looked up. 

“Well, there’s heightened awareness, sensitivity, um, pounding heart…” 

“And have you been sampling some of the drugs we handle? They can have those effects, you know.” 

“Doc, you scared us off of drugs when we were seven. Even Vanny won’t touch them after those horrific documentaries you showed us about their effects. That was deeply scarring, by the way.” 

For the first time Vexen looked up. 

“Sora! Why didn’t you say it was you? What were we talking about?” 

“Nevermind. I’ll just…” 

“Sora, if you’re troubled, you should talk to someone. Now I know Roxas is the psychology major, but I did study a bit myself. We doctors do that you know, in order to improve our bedside manner. So talk to me.” 

“Well, I had some questions about love. Like, normal love. Not all the crazy stuff most of the others have. I thought Roxas would have something helpful to say, but he doesn’t really have time for it and-” 

“Have you tried talking to Xaldin?” Sora thought about asking for a hearing test, since surely he hadn’t heard Vexen correctly. 

“Xaldin?” 

“Yes. It sounds like you’re talking about exactly the kind of love he has. He broke things off with her years ago for her safety of course, but he still keeps his Sunday evenings clear because she often calls him then. It’s quite sweet really. I wish I had found someone I cared for like that.” 

“Xaldin? Really?” 

“Yes. You know, if he hadn’t joined this organization, I think they would be happily married, with three kids. Maybe four. Don’t you think that would suit him?” 

Sora wasn’t sure he agreed, but he nodded before he skedaddled. 

The conversation with Xaldin was pretty simple. Sora just asked him if he really had a long term girlfriend, and Xaldin lapsed into nostalgia, reminiscing about the way they’d been together, and most importantly, talking about how he’d realized he loved her. 

“We had known each other in school, and hadn’t seen each other in years, when one day just after I got out of the army, we ran into each other again. Turns out we lived in the same area and shopped at the same grocery store. As I saw her more and more, I couldn’t help noticing all sorts of little details about her, and my heart would beat faster just thinking about going shopping because I might see her. And then she told me about her late first husband and I felt such a pang in my chest and it just confirmed what I’d thought all along, that I loved her. It took me forever to ask her out…” Sora stopped listening. If what Xaldin was saying was anything to go by, he really was falling for Kairi. So how would he ask her out? Sora tuned back in just in time to hear how Xaldin had joined the Yakuza 13 because of a desperate need for money, and how when he realized it wouldn’t just be temporary and that he rather liked the work, he had talked with his girlfriend and they had agreed that splitting up was best. 

When Sora left, he let himself be distracted from his thoughts of confession by thoughts of getting Xaldin and his girlfriend back together. He chided himself for it, but still didn’t focus on his own romance. Helping other people with love was a lot less scary than the thought of pursuing his own. 

* * *

It was weird trying to plan something without the help of his twin. How was Sora supposed to figure out how to ask Kairi out without any input from Vanitas? Should he go for something fancy? Something big? Maybe he could invite her to hang out and then tell her then? And how should he tell her? Maybe he should get Demyx’s help in writing a love song to serenade her with. No, that’d be way too corny. Give her roses from Marluxia’s garden? But what if that made Kairi uncomfortable, like she would feel obligated to say yes even if she wanted to say no? Or what if he… k- k- no, Sora couldn’t do that. That was too scary, and besides if Kairi didn’t like him back that was a jerk move. Definitely not. 

In the end, Sora prepared a speech. He practiced it in his head for days. He also practiced out loud once, but Vanitas overheard and made fun of him endlessly. 

Sora finally found his chance one day after track when he saw Kairi coming out from drama rehearsal. Kairi preferred to do tech work, even though she ought to be the star actress, meaning she often finished up later than actors like Vanitas, who typically got out around the same time Sora finished practice. But that day, fate was with him. As he and Vanitas were waiting for their ride because Vexen was late yet again, Kairi entered the parking lot, waiting for her ride as well. The moment had come. Sora walked over to Kairi. 

“Sooo, Kairi, uh-” A car horn honked. Sora turned to see an old lady waving from the driver’s seat, clear annoyed. Apparently Vexen had taken so long to get going that Marluxia had taken over coming to pick them up today, and hadn’t had time to change after conducting some form of business. 

“Looks like you need to go,” Kairi said, taking Sora's dad's appearance in stride after years of friendship. “See you tomorrow,” she added as her own ride pulled up. She waved as she got in, and left Sora standing there, dispirited, as Marluxia honked at him until Vanitas came and dragged him to the car. 

However, Sora wasn’t one to stay down for long. He would just have to try again, that was all. He could do this. 

So Friday afternoon when a bunch of them were going to a movie and Kairi also happened to be among the group, he thought maybe this could be the time. So when Kairi needed to use the bathroom just before the showing, Sora offered to hold her bag while she was in the bathroom, and sent everyone to go find seats. 

When Kairi came out, he just had time to hand her her bag and open his mouth before someone called his name. 

“Sora! Fancy seeing you here!” Sora turned around to see Aqua approaching. He almost didn’t see the slight scowl on Kairi’s face. Did she dislike Aqua for some reason? 

“Aqua, don’t you have classes?” 

“The professor is sick, so we have the afternoon off. Zee and I were just going to see the new installment of Henry Porter.” 

“Dad’s here too?” Sora asked. He’d kinda hoped Aqua was here with friends. There was nothing as awkward as running into his parent figure and his “cousin” on a date together, even if they weren’t exactly a new couple anymore. 

“Yeah, he went to get popcorn. But I should let you two go. I’m ruining your date.” 

“It’s not a date, Vanitas and the others just already went in.” Sora spoke quickly, hoping Kairi wouldn’t feel unnerved at the thought of someone mistaking them for a couple. What if the idea repulsed her or something? 

“Oh. Sorry, I didn’t mean to assume-” Zexion came up with a bag of popcorn and put an arm around Aqua’s shoulders. Sora had already been blushing since Aqua had said “date” and now he was beet red with embarrassment. This couldn’t get any more uncomfortable. At least they weren’t seeing the same movie. 

“Sora, Kairi, are you two coming or not? The movie is about to start!” Selphie called, appearing in the theater entrance. 

“Um, g-got to- I- we gotta go,” Sora stammered, and rushed off with Kairi. 

“Enjoy your movie,” Aqua called after him. Unfortunately, Sora wouldn’t enjoy it, because he wouldn’t see much of it as he tried not to die of embarrassment. 

* * *

Sora was acting weird. When Kairi tried to pinpoint when it began, she just uncovered more instances in her memory. Perhaps when they’d all gone ice skating, and Sora’s dads Xaldin and Lexaeus showed up with his mom Larxene. Sora had been coming over to her when Lexaeus careened into him, wiping them both out, and after that it had felt like Sora was avoiding her. But no, because just a few days before that he’d been so embarrassed when Vexen brought the lunch he’d forgotten at home. She’d been offering to share with him and he’d been so red, and then Vexen showed up and she’d thought Sora might cry. Sora could be emotional, but since when was getting a lunch something to cry over? 

But that was still after the time he’d invited her over to work on their science fair project. He’d been quite insistent that his parents didn’t need to help them, and had even yelled at Axel for offering to help. But then he didn’t seem focused on the project at all, and had completely given up after Demyx had used him as a human shield to hide from an angry Saix who was intent on collecting paperwork. And before that he’d actually tried to turn down a request to babysit his little "brother" Ephemer for Roxas and Xion. They’d been talking about playing soccer that weekend, and while Sora enjoyed the game, it wasn’t like him to prioritize a sport over his little brother. 

If Kairi didn’t know better, she’d say he was trying to ask her out. But that couldn’t possibly be the case. For one, she’d been flirting with Sora since they were in middle school, and he never once noticed. He was good at noticing everyone else’s relationships, so how could he be so dense? Was he gay? Was she just not his type? Or was he really just not noticing? But Vanitas had been dating people for years. Could twins really have such different sexualities? 

The other thing was that time at the movies, when they’d ran into his perfect cousin. Aqua was indeed nice, and by all means Kairi ought to like her, but she had her reasons for resenting the woman. For one, she was Sora’s first crush. Both he and Vanitas had admitted to being “a little in love” with her “when they were little”. But was it really all over? Kairi had always worried Sora still felt something, and the movies seemed to confirm it, since he had been quick to say they weren’t on a date, and had been very uncomfortable when his dad showed up. Like the way a guy might react when his crush’s boyfriend showed up maybe. 

* * *

Sora was wondering if maybe he should just give up. Maybe his bad luck in trying to ask Kairi out stemmed from the universe trying to tell him it wasn’t meant to be. Maybe the Fates were against his dating her. Or maybe it was Cupid telling him that what he felt wasn’t truly love. But even if it wasn’t love, he did think it would be hard to get over it. 

He’d invited Kairi to come shopping at the mall with him. He claimed he needed a girl’s opinion on what to get Mama Xion for the holidays, but really he just wanted a chance to ask her out. He would give it one last try. 

After Kairi helped him pick out a pair of earrings for Xion, he treated her to smoothies, and they sat at a table to drink them. This was it. 

“So um, Kairi, I was wondering. Um…” 

“What?” 

“Well, that is, I..." Sora's nerves were already beginning to get the better of him. Thankfully, his brain kicked in just long enough to scream at him _The speech, idiot, remember the speech!_ Right. His speech. Which he'd already messed up. "Hang on. This isn’t how it’s supposed to go. Let me start over,” Sora said. 

“Okay…?” Kairi looked perplexed, and more than a little concerned. Her fingers were twitching towards her cell phone, as if she wasn't sure she didn't need to call his parents and have him rushed home. But his parents were the last thing he needed right then, danggit! 

“Kairi, we’ve been friends for a really long time. Aside from Riku and Ven and Vanny, you’re my oldest friend, which makes you my oldest girl friend. Er, not that you’re my girlfriend, you’re my friend who’s a girl, but about girlfriends, um, crap, I’m messing up again. Aw geez.” He was babbling. Not good. Babbling was never good. 

“Sora, are you…” Kairi trailed off, disbelief on her face. Sora was just trying to figure out how to interpret that when a new voice cut in. 

“Hey, Sora kiddo. Mind if I join you for a bit?” It was Xigbar. 

“Sure,” Sora said in a wavering voice. It seemed it really was a doomed effort. 

“Thanks pal. I really owe you one. It seems the Trickmasters are still a little angry about the way I interrupted their meeting with the Dual Blades the other day. But that alliance is too dangerous, of course we’re not going to let them form it. Anyways, they’re hardly going to try and finish me in a public place, or in front of a couple of random teenagers. Especially when you kids these days all have video cameras on your phones.” 

If Xigbar was planning on sticking around, then today was definitely a failure. Sora resigned himself to watching Kairi from afar. Hopefully he’d find someone else before she got a boyfriend, as he didn’t think his heart would be able to take it if he had to see her dating someone else when he still felt like this. 

* * *

He had totally been about to ask her. Sora, the guy she’d liked since forever, the guy she had been trying to get the attention of for ages, that Sora was trying to ask her out. When Kairi got home, she calmly greeted her parents and went to her room, where she threw herself onto her bed and squealed into her pillow before hugging her pillow to her chest with a huge sigh of contentment. Finally. After all this time. 

But the next time she saw him, nothing happened. Or the next. Winter break began, and still nothing. He wasn’t trying to talk to her alone. What had happened? Luckily, they’d all agreed to have a movie marathon at Riku’s place after break started. Sora and Vanitas were already there when she arrived. Good. She almost wished their friend group wasn’t so well-behaved, as she felt like taking a dramatic swallow of something alcoholic like they did in movies when they needed courage. But none of them drank, except maybe Vanitas but if so he did it at home, so there was no convenient shot glass of brandy or vodka or whatever people drank. But that was okay. She could do this on her own. 

“Sora, I need to talk to you,” she said as soon as she came in. 

“Huh? What about?” 

“Not here. Outside.” 

“Oh. Okay.” As Sora got up, she saw Riku and Vanitas raise their eyebrows at each other. They knew what was coming, and were probably going to follow and watch. 

“Don’t you dare,” she warned them, and they smiled innocently at her. Like she’d trust that. 

Kairi followed Sora outside, and then led him across the street. It was cold, and neither of them had grabbed their coats on the way out, so Sora protested, but from here the others couldn’t eavesdrop. Sora could just suck it up and shiver. 

“Kairi, what’s-” 

Kairi wasn’t going to beat around the bush. 

“Sora, are you going to ask me out or not? Because I’ve been flirting with you for so long I thought you weren’t interested until the other week at the mall, but since then you haven’t said a word and it’s really getting on my nerves.” 

Sora stared at her and blinked. “W-what?” 

“Is that a no then?” Sora said nothing more, and Kairi sighed. “Fine. I guess-” she didn’t get to finish that thought though. 

“You like me?” Wow. Sora really had been oblivious. 

“Yes! Since we were kids, idiot!” 

“Really? I thought…” Sora laughed. “Haha. You know, all this time I’ve been worried that you’d get mad at me if I asked you out because I thought maybe you just don’t see me that way.” 

“Sora, I’m crazy about you.” 

“Oh. Okay.” Sora was no longer shivering. 

“Okay. So um…” 

“Will you be my girlfriend?” He’d finally asked it. 

“Obviously.” 

They didn’t kiss or anything like that. They just held hands as they walked back to Riku’s house. Riku at least had the decency to pretend he hadn’t been watching, but Vanitas whooped and applauded as they entered. Selphie had also arrived, and she commented that it was about time. 

It was a long night for the two of them, as they had to endure endless commentary on how cute they were and were they going to kiss and much more. But next time, it would be just the two of them, and maybe then they could have a real date.


	12. Danger: Age - 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Lots of drama, assassination attempts, violence

Aqua was in a hurry as she left her car. Even after over a year of going out and two months of living together, it was still a big deal to her to be meeting Zexion for a date. Today they were just getting groceries together, but it was rather exciting. They had progressed far enough in their relationship that they did simple things together, like shopping. She liked that. 

The weather had been warming up rather quickly this year, but it was still only March, and the winds were not quite ready to admit that winter was over. She shivered in her jacket and wrapped her scarf once more around her neck as she hurried onward to where she was supposed to meet up with her boyfriend. 

Part of the reason she was in such a rush was because her class had run late. The professors only ever went overtime when it was inconvenient for her, she would swear on it. Also there was the fact that no matter how early she arrived, Zexion would be even earlier. She didn’t like the thought of making him wait, even if he said he didn’t mind. 

She reached the bistro where they were meeting up and saw him sitting at one of the tables outside. Despite the chill wind, there were plenty of people out there, enjoying the feel of the sun after the miserable gray February they’d had. He had his phone out, and she wondered if he was playing a game on some app, texting orders to his subordinates, or hacking into some supposedly secure database. She was hoping it was the first option, but expected the second and/or third were more likely. 

Even before she announced herself, he’d already noticed her. He seemed to have a sixth sense whenever she came around; even when buried so deeply in a book that you could have run a zoo’s worth of stampeding animals past him without attracting his attention, if she walked by he always noticed. As she walked up to the table he put his phone away and stood up to greet her with a kiss. The cold wind didn’t bother her so much anymore. 

They walked along, holding hands as they headed to the grocery store where they’d be doing their shopping. It was one of those small moments that brought such a sheer amount of happiness that Aqua savored them endlessly. 

But then the moment ended. They turned to take a shortcut down an alley, one they’d taken plenty of times before. They were about halfway down the alley when three men popped up from behind a dumpster and surrounded them. One of them held a pistol in Aqua’s face. 

“Well what do we have here? We’d heard that Zexion of the Yakuza 13 was getting all sweet on some broad, but who’d have thought it was actually true?” one of them said. 

Zexion said nothing. 

“Well, don’t you want to know what we want?” the speaker said. 

“I don’t deal with idiots,” Zexion responded, completely calm. 

“You better learn to be nice real fast, pal, or little missy here gets a bullet to the forehead.” 

“You won’t do that. Not if you want to live.” 

“What, you think you could stop us?” 

“It doesn’t matter if I stop you. She’s under Yakuza 13 protection. You harm her, and we all harm you. And not just you. I will personally hunt down everyone you have ever cared about, whether it be your family or that kindergarten teacher who you thought was so pretty.” 

The wind blew, and Aqua shivered. The wind was cold, but Zexion’s tone was far colder. 

“Oh, yeah?” The speaker this time was the one holding the gun on Aqua. He waved it a little as he talked. “Well I hope you like corpses because your little girlfriend will still be dead.” 

Aqua saw her chance and she took it. She propelled herself forward, sliding inside the man’s reach and grabbing the arm with the gun. She pointed the gun downwards as she fought for control of the trigger and emptied the clip. Then, seeing as how she had the man’s arm, it was a simple matter to use one of the throws Tifa had taught her and place the man in an arm bar. She looked around to see that while she had been dealing with the gunman, Zexion had taken care of the other two. One of them lay on his back, unconscious, and the other was on his stomach, trying to crawl away with a broken arm. As she watched, Zexion kicked the guy viciously, forcing him onto his back as well. Zexion placed a foot on the man’s chest and pulled out his own gun. His face was pure murder. The air was currently still, but Aqua felt herself begin to shiver. She hadn’t felt afraid when there was a gun in her face, but now she was genuinely scared. This was a completely different side to Zexion than the man she knew. This was not her boyfriend. 

“I really hate idiots,” Zexion said in that coldest of voices. “You are going to regret ever having even thought of harming her.” The words promised pain, so much pain. Aqua was horrified. She looked down at the man she had in the arm bar. If she let go, at least he could get away. Even he didn’t deserve what might happen, right? 

Aqua released her hold and stood up, meaning to walk over to Zexion. Maybe she could reason with him. She hadn’t been hurt, and no harm no foul, right? She had only taken two steps before the man tried to choke her from behind. Once again, she threw him. As he landed, a shot rang out, and he yelled in pain at the bullet in his leg. Aqua bent over, careful not to get too close. The bullet hadn’t hit any of the major arteries there, but the man wouldn’t be able to stand or run away. 

“Aqua, are you alright?” Zexion asked, and it was equally terrifying to Aqua that this monster of a person with the expression of absolute evil and the voice of ice could also speak to her in the voice of the man she’d come to love. She nodded, afraid to speak. 

“Good. I’m sorry, but you should go home. Go, and lock the door and get the gun from the bedroom; you know where it is.” Aqua did indeed know where Zexion kept that particular gun, after an incident where Demyx had decided to serenade them for Valentine’s Day. The incident had been somewhat startling, but had managed to remain in her memories as funny up until now. “I’ll take care of things here,” he added, and that cold crept back into his voice. 

She nodded, and ran back out of the alley. It was amazing that no one seemed to have noticed the gunshots that had rang out just now, and she merged into the crowd without attracting attention. She walked, directionless, unsure where to go. She was supposed to go home, so she had to go to her car. But she couldn’t seem to remember where she’d left her car. She wasn’t able to think, since that horrible face kept popping into her mind. 

Finally she found a bench and sat down. She pulled out her phone and tried to swipe the screen to unlock it, but her hands were trembling. She put it down and hugged herself, succumbing to the tremors she’d been holding back. When she was able to control them again, she unlocked her phone and made a call. 

“Hey sis, what’s up?” Terra said, answering on the second ring. 

“Terra?” Her voice was shaking. 

“Aqua, what’s wrong?!” Terra exclaimed, clearly alarmed. 

“Can you come get me?” 

“Where are you?” 

Aqua wasn’t actually entirely certain of where she was. She looked around until she saw a street sign. 

“Neverland Drive. By the Uncle Scrooge’s Emporium.” 

“Got it. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” 

Terra, being the amazing brother that he was, made it in ten. 

* * *

In the end, Zexion had to call Marluxia to help him get information from the men. He disliked having to get anyone else involved in such a personal matter, but Marluxia was, admittedly, very good at this sort of thing. But even with Marluxia’s help they came up with very little. They had an employer, but they knew nothing about them. Someone, somewhere, was pulling some strings, and that was something that Zexion could not forgive. He’d lost the people he cared about once, and had only managed to deal with it by joining the Yakuza 13. He was not going to go through that kind of pain again. 

After calling in some subordinates to clean up the alleyway, Zexion went to complete the day’s interrupted errand. He added that one ice cream that Aqua loved to the cart as well as the planned groceries, figuring she’d probably need it after what had just happened. He also grabbed a bottle of wine just in case. The selection was dismal, but that Riesling should at least be palatable. 

Zexion realized he felt lonely getting groceries on his own, and it was a shocking revelation. These days, he did almost everything together with Aqua. She’d taken over his life, and he vowed to himself that he would destroy those men for trying to take her from him. It was unacceptable. 

The drive home was agonizingly slow. He wanted to make sure Aqua was okay. She was probably pretty worried right now. She got that way sometimes. Like, he’d come home from just an ordinary day, watching the boys or sitting in one of Xemnas’s meetings, and she’d get this relieved look on her face, like she had been certain he wasn’t coming back. It almost made him want to leave the 13, just so she wouldn’t tense up whenever his phone went off or he walked out the door. But there was no leaving the 13. If he tried, he’d have to live on the run, which would be even harder on Aqua, not to mention it would force her to leave everyone she loved behind and give up on her dream, and she’d still be just as worried about him. Yet even with as concerned as she got, she still accused him of being the worrywart in their relationship. 

When he arrived in the apartment, all was silent. She’d probably hidden somewhere as an extra precaution. That was good. After what had happened, they couldn’t assume safety was guaranteed anywhere, except maybe Yakuza 13 headquarters. 

“Aqua, I’m home,” he called. “It’s just me.” As he placed the grocery bags on the counter, he expected her to appear somewhere, pale and nervous but at the same time glad to see him. She didn’t. Maybe she hadn’t heard him? Or maybe she’d fallen asleep somewhere? He could picture that, her, sitting in the closet, clutching a gun and fast asleep. But even after he checked he couldn’t find her. He pulled up the security cameras outside the door on his computer, and checked the last hour’s footage. Aqua had not come through the door. He also checked the garage footage. Garages were excellent places for ambushes. Had she not made it from her car to the elevator? But no, her car wasn’t even there. 

Zexion tried calling her. Maybe she’d stopped by someplace for a drink. She wasn’t big on alcohol, but tense situations could make even the most sober of people reach for a glass. Or maybe there’d been some kind of accident. 

Or maybe the men who had attacked them hadn’t been working alone, and there had been others who had waited to ambush her. He cursed himself for letting her go alone. He should have called for backup. Roxas could have taken her home… Except Roxas was probably busy with baby Ephemer. Larxene then. Or Lexaeus. He somewhat got along with them, so it wouldn’t be too much of a problem if he owed them a favor. Not like if he asked Xigbar or someone, who would probably be asking for his kidneys in return. 

Aqua didn’t answer her phone. He knew exactly how many rings came before the answering machine, and he knew her message by heart. “Hey, you’ve reached Aqua. I’m not available right now, but I’ll try and call you back quickly, so please leave a message at the tone.” 

“Aqua, it’s me. Where are you?” he said by way of voicemail. He hung up and buttoned his jacket back up, heading out the door. He’d go check the area near where they’d been attacked, and if he didn’t find anything there he’d check some of their favorite places- the smoothie shop she liked, the river where they went walking, the gym where they went to spar, the book store. He would find her, if he had to stop all outgoing traffic and tear up this entire town. 

* * *

Terra handed his sister the cup of tea he’d made. It was nothing fancy, just some plain black tea. He’d have liked to give her chamomile, since it was supposed to soothe one’s nerves, but he didn’t have any. Tea wasn’t really his thing. 

Aqua had barely said a word since he’d found her sitting on a bench and looking like someone had sent a parade over her grave. She’d just followed him to his car and he’d taken her to his place. He would have taken her home, but she said she didn’t want to be alone, and he had a midterm to study for. She’d also seemed relieved to be coming here. Something very odd was going on. 

She sipped the tea as he got out his notes and began to review them. They spent nearly an hour like that, her sipping her tea and staring off into space and him studying. 

After a while she asked if she could watch a movie, and he lent her his computer so that she could queue something up on Holo. He wasn’t sure if she had any idea what she was watching, her gaze was just so blank. As she watched her movie, her phone rang a few times, until she put it on silent. It still lit up every ten minutes, a fact that became more and more noticeable as the sun sank lower. 

Finally, Terra got up, stretching. 

“Do you want something to eat? All I’ve got is mac ‘n cheese though.” 

She shook her head. He still made enough for two. If she didn’t eat any, he’d just have it for lunch tomorrow. 

He returned with the two bowls of cheesy noodles, and Aqua accepted hers, though she looked at it as if she’d never seen food before and wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. It was breaking Terra’s heart to see his sister this way. 

“Aqua, can you please tell me what’s upsetting you? I’m your twin. I want to help you, if there’s any way I can.” 

“Can you make me forget?” she asked quietly, then laughed bitterly. “No. That’s hardly a solution. I’m sure someday something else would happen and I’d see that again.” 

“See what?” 

“Terra, I- You know how dad always kept the uncles and aunts from… from being their job selves around us?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Well…” she trailed off and lapsed into silence again. 

“Aqua?” Terra asked after a minute. Her phone lit up again, and she glanced at it and then back at her pasta, which she put down. 

“We were going to get groceries. And… there were men. In an alley. One of them had a gun, which he pointed at me.” The breath Terra had been taking entered his lungs much faster than normal. Someone had threatened his sister? Also, as there was no question of who “we” included, that meant they had done so right in front of one of the top brass in the Yakuza 13, which was either very stupid or very ballsy. 

“But you’re okay, right? You didn’t get hurt?” Aqua shook her head. 

“Just scared. So, so scared.” 

“Well yeah, having a gun pointed at you. I imagine that’s got to be pretty-” 

“It wasn’t that Terra. It was how he reacted. He was like… I don’t know. A demon. And his face was like the oni in the Japanese fairy tales dad used to read us. He was like someone else. And… How am I going to face him?” Aqua brought her knees into her chest and laid her head on them as she started to cry. Terra put down his bowl and moved over to hug her. He had no clue how to deal with this. 

“Erm. maybe you should talk to Uncle Roxas? Since he knows about psychology and stuff?” 

As Terra was suggesting this, his flatmate Jumba came in. 

“Hey Terra, you will never guess what is it today that I did!” he slurred drunkenly. His eyes lit up when he saw Aqua. “Oh! You never say you lovely sister is to be visiting! I am very happy to see you.” 

Terra’s other flatmate, Phil, shoved him aside. 

“Yeah yeah, move it four-eyes. Heya sweetcheeks,” he said, clicking his tongue for attention. When Aqua didn’t look up, he huffed in annoyance and went back the hall, muttering about women. 

“Phil, you can hardly expect any girls to be interested when you hit on all of them,” Terra’s third and final flatmate, Donald, called. “And besides, she’s taken, remember?” 

“Guys,” Terra hissed, flapping a hand angrily at them to indicate they should leave him and Aqua alone. 

“Oh. Very sorry to be disturbing,” Jumba said, and he and Donald followed Phil down the hall. 

Aqua’s phone lit up again, and now that he was closer Terra could see the screen. 

“Incoming call. Zexion.” It said. 

“Um, aren’t you going to answer that? It’s your boyfriend.” 

“I don’t know what to say to him.” 

The call went to voicemail, and a message showed on Aqua’s screen, stating that she had missed 27 calls from Zexion. 

“Aqua, he’s been calling for hours, don’t you think you should talk to him?” 

“Ah,” she said, realization dawning on her face. “He probably thinks something happened to me. Since I didn’t go home like he said.” 

“You didn’t tell him you came here, did you?” Aqua shook her head. 

“Right. Can I borrow your phone? If you can’t talk to him, I will.” 

Aqua unlocked her phone and handed it over. Her hand was trembling. 

When Terra had first discovered Aqua was dating Zexion, he’d been reluctant to accept it. Back then he’d been concerned since the two of them had known the Yakuza 13 brass as their “uncles” and “aunts” all their lives. It was a little weird for his sister to be dating someone who was like family, and also someone who had been part of the Yakuza 13 almost as long as they’d been alive. He’d gotten over it, though, since he could tell that the feelings between them were genuine, and being together made them happy. Now though, he wished he’d protested their relationship more, if this was what it was going to do to his sister. Aqua shouldn’t have to be scared like this, whether it was from events that happened because of her boyfriend or because of the man himself. 

He took a deep breath to calm down. It wasn’t like Zexion wanted this to happen either or anything. Terra knew that Aqua and Zexion had argued in the past about protective measures for Aqua- Zexion believed that as his girlfriend Aqua needed to have a security team nearby, ready to deal with any threats that came within a mile of her, while Aqua felt that just because she was dating Zexion didn’t mean she would be in any more danger than she’d been in all her life due to the complicated relationship she had to the 13, both through shared blood with Xemnas and Roxas and through her father’s position as gang lawyer. Plus Aqua had learned martial arts from the members of Fantasy, and she had spent years in dance and baton twirling. 

Terra made the call, and Zexion picked up immediately. 

“Aqua?” Zexion asked, and only years of being around the Yakuza 13 allowed Terra to detect the hint of panic in the man’s voice. It was no wonder he had a nickname among the others at top of the 13, which was “the robot”, if he could sound almost perfectly calm when he was very much not. 

“Terra actually. But she’s here at my place.” 

Terra heard a squealing of tires and the honking of horns, and knew that Zexion had probably just pulled some very illegal traffic maneuver that would make Terra’s father grow another gray hair or fifty. 

“I’m on my way,” Zexion said. As if that wasn’t apparent from the noises Terra had just heard. 

“Actually, can I talk to you a bit first? There’s a park about a block from my apartment, so we could meet there.” 

“Fine. I’ll be there in twenty or so minutes.” 

* * *

It was a definite testament to Zexion’s anxious state of mind that Terra found him rather than the other way around. Normally he would never have let such a thing happen. Terra even managed to come up and tap him on the shoulder for crying out loud! Had circumstances been different, he would have found it humiliating. But at this point in time, he was too concerned about Aqua. Was she okay? Actually okay, not her “it’s okay” which was just as likely to mean she was suffering greatly but she’d never tell you that because it might inconvenience you. Like how she’d been “okay” when Eraqus had been abroad and Xehanort had taken custody of Ven and Terra was still acting up and her whole life had been broken, but not to worry because everything was “fine”. 

“Terra. How is she?” he asked, trying to keep the desperation he felt out of his demeanor. He didn’t think he was succeeding. He’d always hated being called a robot, but right now he kind of wished he could be one. He didn’t like his emotions to be on display. He didn’t mind if Aqua saw, but anyone else was uncomfortable, and in public spaces like this it was downright dangerous. You never knew who could be watching. 

“She’s… well, she’s not hurt.” Zexion breath left him in a whoosh of relief, but Terra wasn’t done yet. “She’d not hurt, but she’s… really frightened.” 

“Not surprising. We’ve always managed to keep all the threats against your family from actually reaching you after all.” If Terra was surprised by the news that Eraqus and his family had been threatened before, he didn’t show it. Zexion envied him. Normally, he was the one with such a blank face. He didn’t like it being the other way around like this. 

“Well actually…” Terra took a deep breath. “Look, I’m not sure how to tell you this, but it wasn’t the attack that scared her.” 

“Then what happened? Did something happen on the way to her car? Is that why she didn’t drive home?” 

“She was scared… she was scared by you.” 

Zexion laughed nervously. Surely Terra was joking, right? 

“By me? But…” he trailed off. He could see the seriousness in Terra’s eyes. And when he thought about it… 

“Oh. I see. She hasn’t… she’s never seen me… get angry before.” 

“Yeah. I think she’s having a hard time reconciling what she saw with her image of you.” 

Zexion sat down hard, right there on the ground. He didn’t really look his age usually, but now he looked older than he was rather than younger. 

“Then… I… Oh god what do I do?” It was a rhetorical question, and Terra was savvy enough to not answer it. 

“Can you… Do you think she can stay with you then?” Zexion asked. 

“For a day or two maybe. But I’m heading out of town for spring break in a few days. And also my flatmate Phil makes her uncomfortable.” 

“The flirt. Right,” Zexion said, nodding slowly. “Maybe she’ll feel better by then?” 

“Maybe.” 

“And if not… I suppose she can go back home to your father. Eraqus will be so mad when he hears about this.” 

“I think Dad will understand. And we’ll try to help her as best we can.” Terra offered a hand to help Zexion up, but Zexion shook his head. He wanted some time to think. That was his way- think first, then move. Like when his parents had been killed, and he’d shut himself in his room for two days. The police wanted to question him and the staff was upset, but he’d shut himself off and ignored the pounding on his door as he thought about what to do next. 

Terra left, and Zexion found himself alone with his thoughts. It was very familiar to him, being alone like this, and yet it felt alien to be truly alone after two months of living with Aqua. He shoved this feeling aside and began processing his options. The best thing he could do for her right now was give her space. If he forced his presence on her right now, it would only cause her pain. She’d calm down, and then they could talk this over like they always did. 

And what if she didn’t calm down? He wanted to crush the corner of his mind that suggested it, but he knew it was something he had to consider. If that happened… well breaking up would be inevitable then. The thought squeezed his heart painfully. But as miserable as that would be, it would be far worse drawing out their relationship at the cost of Aqua’s ability to feel joy. He couldn’t do that to her. Even if his conscience would allow it, there were plenty of people who would not- her brothers and dad, the twins, the staff of Fantasy, and also the other members of the Yakuza 13’s upper echelons. 

Zexion had never been particularly religious. But in a situation like this, it really made sense. Who wouldn’t turn to a God that they had no proof of when they found themselves unable to do anything and with nothing left except the prayer they sent to such a being? 

* * *

Aqua was playing video games with Ven, and for the moment she was feeling cheerful. Her little brother and the twins were really great, since they’d been sticking with her over the last two weeks, and were good at finding things to do that distracted her from the negativity that kept bogging her down. 

She still hadn’t gone to see Zexion, or talked to him. She still kept hearing that cold version of his voice, and seeing that murderous face. She knew it hadn’t been directed at her. But it was scary knowing that the guy she’d been dating- who was so sweet and loving and adorkable- could become that so easily. And she couldn’t help but wonder if that wouldn’t someday be directed at her. Sure, they were in love right now, but time changed feelings. And what if she did something that made him really angry? 

She felt horribly guilty running away from the problem like this. It was probably hurting Zexion pretty badly. But wouldn’t it hurt him if they were in the same place and she flinched looking him in the eyes or recoiled from the sound of his voice? And it wasn’t like she enjoyed this. She was so depressed. Almost like they’d broken up. But they hadn’t yet, had they? 

She’d let herself get distracted, and was just pushing the same button repeatedly. Luckily she was playing with Ven, who didn’t take advantage of the situation to get a perfect defeat. If it were Vanitas, he would have mercilessly crushed her, and Sora would probably have taken the time to practice the combos he could never quite pull off. Terra would have just quit. She focused again, and went on to continue her winning streak against Ven. Everyone always underestimated the character she used. Even… that person who she hadn’t broken up with so why was she avoiding even his name? 

“Aqua?” Ven asked. 

“Huh? Oh. Sorry Ven. I just…” 

“I kinda want to punch him.” 

“Who? The character you’re using? C’mon, he’s not that bad.” She didn’t want to have this conversation. But Ven wasn’t going to be waylaid. 

“Zexion. Not only did he upset you this badly, but he hasn’t even come to see you. Not once.” Aqua had asked that as few people as possible know the full situation. Her dad knew, since apparently Zexion himself had told him, but Ven was still in the dark. As were most of the Yakuza 13. 

“Ven… He’s trying to give me some space. That’s all. He’s being considerate.” 

“Yeah, but you’re being miserable. And I don’t like it. You’re my big sis. You always look out for me. So is it so bad that I want to look out for you?” 

“Rather than looking out for me, you should be looking out for my avatar, since she’s about to pummel yours.” 

“Oh yeah? I bet this is the round where I kick your butt!” 

Ven didn’t kick Aqua’s butt, in that round or any of the others that came after. That evening, as Aqua lay awake, she thought about things. Ven was right, in a way. Not seeing him wasn’t changing anything, and she’d really had enough space. She wanted to see him. 

The next day, Aqua drove to the Yakuza 13 headquarters. It was 10:30 am when she arrived, and many of the faces she saw were yawning. Very few of these guys did mornings. But Zexion was one of those few. 

“Aqua! Hey babe,” someone called. Not Zexion. He wasn’t big on pet names, and definitely not in public. That was Xigbar. He’d always called her that. It was what he called women he cared about. Though not Larxene, since she’d forbidden it, and anyways Xigbar used the wrong pronouns for her half the time which just showed how aware he was of her being female. But Aqua vaguely remembered him calling her mom that too, back in the day. 

Xigbar was in his favorite spot, on the balcony. He often sat up there, taking pot shots at incoming members with paintball guns, airsoft guns, or nerf guns as a test to see if they were really up to snuff. It was his mission in life to make sure all of the Yakuza 13 were always aware of their surroundings, and it served as a top source of entertainment for him. He also had members of his squad stationed in various rotating positions both in the building and around the city, but this was where he himself would set up. There was a sofa up there that was rather comfy. Even when he wasn’t raising awareness, he would still sit up there. If he opened a window there was a nice breeze. 

Xigbar waved her up, and she headed over to the stairs, sidestepping a sleepy Demyx as he was ambling across the lobby. You could pour several pots of coffee into Demyx, and he still would be sluggish until noon or later. She climbed the stairs and sat down next to Xigbar. 

“Hey uncle Xigbar. I was wondering if Zexion was busy. I’d like to talk to him.” 

“Ooh, sorry hon. He’s not in today. Had a late night of it last night. Luxord’s been taking it upon himself to look after him, and with Luxord, the solution to any problem is a stiff drink.” Aqua winced. Zexion didn’t drink any more than she did, which was rarely. He didn’t have a very high alcohol tolerance. 

“So he’s hungover?” she asked. 

“Oh yeah. Luxord specializes in sleight of hand you know. Spiking drinks is no big deal to him.” 

“Alright. I guess I won’t be seeing Zexion just yet. But while I’m here, is Luxord around?” 

“Lexaeus already chewed him out when he went to pick your boy up, so no need to go beating him up, babe.” 

“All the same…” 

“Though if you’re in the mood for a chat, why not talk to your old uncle here?” 

“Xigbar, you’re only…” Aqua paused as she tried to remember how old Xigbar was. 

“See, you have to count, which means I’m old. I’m 55 by the way.” 

“That’s not even old enough for a senior citizen’s discount.” 

“It’s old enough to join AARP.” 

“Xigbar…” 

“But enough about me. How have you been doing, babe?” 

“I’m… okay I guess.” 

“I vaguely recall Zexion complaining once that you say you’re okay mostly when you’re not.” 

“Alright, I’m not. I… I don’t know how to work things out with him. But I don’t just want to break up with him, so, I don’t know. It’s all a mess.” 

“It’s not affecting you at school, is it?” 

“No. Now it’s my turn. How is he?” 

“Oh, um, he’s doing alright. Been pretty busy updating systems lately since Larxene found a new trick for getting past his cameras…” 

“Xigbar. How is he, really? You said Luxord is taking him drinking. Which means Luxord is concerned. Which means all of you are most likely. He’s not doing well, is he?” 

“Look, Aqua. I don’t think I should tell you this. You can’t put his well-being above your own. I happen to be in the know about what’s going on with you two right now, and as such, I think you’re doing the right thing. He’s one of us, the Yakuza 13. And I don’t mean the gang, I mean the 13 who are in charge of the 13. We’re not good guys, hon. We’re cold-blooded, all of us. Except maybe Roxas and Xion. Though get them mad enough and they’ll be cold-blooded too. Like the other week he was showing pictures of little Ephemer, and some idiot said the kid is ugly. He was the ugly one after Roxas was through with… oh, probably not the best story to be telling you now.” 

“No it’s alright. I think it’s kinda funny. And I get what you’re saying Xigbar. But I’m not looking to talk to him for his sake. It’s for my sake. I need to try and work this out and if we can’t then I need it to be broken off cleanly. The way things are right now… it’s not good for either of us. So please just tell me how he’s doing.” 

“Well keep what I said in mind when you talk to him. I won’t say people don’t change for love, since he’s certainly a different person since he started dating you. I mean, he even learned to talk like a human being, rather than all those percentages and ratios and math stuff, and I’ve even caught him smiling on occasion, which we never thought he knew how to do. But snapping like that is in his nature. It’s part of who he is. He’s vengeful. And you’ll probably see it from time to time, though it may not be directed at you.” 

“I’ll consider it. So please?” 

“Alright, fine. How should I put it? I guess... he’s become even more of a workaholic. You practically have to drug the guy to make sure he’s getting any sleep. And he’s not eating too well either. Not in a ‘not wanting to eat’ kind of way. More a ‘he forgets that he needs to eat’ kind of thing. Also he spends lots of time going for walks. Lots. To a lot of the same places, so Roxas is theorizing they’re places that are significant to the two of you. He’s also kind of reverting to being a robot, which is damned annoying. Basically, he’s coping as best he can.” 

“I see. Thanks Xigbar.” 

“Right. Anyway, my old joints don’t like sitting for too long, so I’d better get up now. Take care, kiddo.” Xigbar hugged her, and left. After a moment, she got up and left as well. She had some thinking to do. 

* * *

The trail the men had left was infuriating. Zexion had managed to find traces of a money transfer into their bank accounts, and had followed it to an unknown origin. Everything he got led to a dead end. The only other times he’d met with situations like this had involved Xehanort. But this just didn’t feel like the kind of thing Xemnas’s father would do. It was just too poorly planned. 

As if to confirm that it wasn’t Xehanort, last night he’d found the same source paying out money to a team of second rate assassins. He’d spent the night hacking their emails, and now he had confirmation of the intended target: Aqua. The information they’d been given included her class schedule, which for today was just one class ending at noon, and the promise of a substantial bonus if the hit was carried out sooner rather than later. It was 11:50. He really hoped that the feeling in his gut was wrong. 

Despite his constant concern over Aqua’s safety, Zexion had always drawn certain lines so as to allow her to maintain some privacy. During the brief period when he’d assigned a security detail to her, they had been under strict orders to keep the maximum distance possible while still keeping her safe, and were not to under any circumstances tell anyone, even him, what Aqua had done while they kept an eye on her. He also refrained from tracking her phone, even though that might have saved him some worry back when she had decided to go to Terra’s rather than come home. And after the argument they’d had over whether or not she needed to have bodyguards, he asked for her consent before imposing any new measures. If she was against it, no matter how necessary it seemed to him, he wouldn’t do it. 

But right now he had to cross that line. 

In this day and age, it wasn’t too hard for him to give himself some eyes on campus. His heart sank. That dratted gut feeling had been right. 

* * *

Aqua’s classmates were getting together for a study session in the library. They’d be stopping by one of the cafeterias on the way, and Jasmine, rich girl that she was, had promised it would be her treat. 

As she gathered her books, something out the window caught Aqua’s eye. At first she wasn’t sure what it was. But then the part of her that had been raised alongside the Yakuza 13 and was hyper aware of people kicked in. There were people on the grounds who shouldn’t be there. Mostly men, though there were a couple of women who stood out to her as well. She couldn’t say what exactly was wrong about them, but she could tell that these people were not affiliated with the university in any way. They weren’t in uniforms like maintenance, custodial, and groundskeeping staff would wear, and the men did not have any kind of professorial vibe, meaning that at a girls’ college like this they could only be boyfriends of students or outsiders. And there were simply too many of them to be boyfriends. As for the women… they had the wrong kind of purpose to them. Students moved in a specific direction with a purpose, or they walked aimlessly. These people kept changing their direction. Almost as if they were searching for something. Or someone. 

“Actually guys, I really need to use the bathroom. You go on ahead,” Aqua said. 

“We can wait,” Aurora offered. 

“Better not. It’s” Aqua lowered her voice. “Number two. It might be a while, not to mention stinky.” 

Jasmine wrinkled her nose. “Right, what do you want us to get you at the cafeteria?” 

“Jasmine, it’s okay. I’ll pay for myself since I’m the one lagging behind. Thanks though.” 

The girls left, and Aqua heaved a sigh. She peeked into the hallway and made a beeline for the bathroom. It would give her story credence, and also bathrooms were good places to hide and make plans. This building in particular had very tall stalls with doors that went almost to the ground, meaning no one would be able to slip under the door if she was found. 

Aqua had barely locked the stall door behind her when her phone rang. Probably her dad wanting to know what she wanted for dinner. She picked up without looking to see who it was. 

“Hello?” 

“Aqua, do you trust me?” Aqua’s heart skipped a beat, then went racing to make up for missed time. Not her dad. Nope. Zexion. Aqua wished the toilet had a lid she could put down and sit on, as her legs didn’t feel particularly sturdy right now. 

“Zexion,” she said, her voice a little higher than she meant it to be. Gosh darn it. This was her boyfriend, right? Sort of. Maybe. In just two weeks things had gotten complicated. 

“Aqua, I’m sorry for calling you like this since I know you need some time to deal with things, but right now you’re in danger. I can help you, but you have to trust me.” 

“Those people who were searching…” she whispered. So they really had come looking for her, and not one of her rich classmates like Jasmine or Aurora or Elsa. All because she was dating this guy. For a moment a surge of resentment for Zexion filled her, but it almost instantly dissipated. That was ridiculous. They could also be after her because of her dad, who, as well as defending the Yakuza 13, also worked to put other criminals away, or because of her uncle/cousin Xemnas who ran the 13, or her uncle Roxas who sniffed out the Yakuza 13’s enemies wherever they hid and chased them down. He knew every hidey hole and was impossible to escape, and people resented him for it. There were plenty of reasons to come after her. 

“Do you trust me?” he repeated into her ear, and she nodded before remembering he couldn’t see her. 

“Yes.” And it was true. Because she knew that the current Zexion would never do anything to hurt her. 

“Okay. Lexaeus has some guys on the way. But until they arrive, you need to blend into the crowd. Can you do that?” 

“Zexion, it may be lunch time, but there’s not exactly a crowd.” 

“There will be. In the meantime, the best way to exit the building would be to pull the fire alarm.” 

“Okay.” Aqua left the stall and peered out of the bathroom, locating the nearest alarm. About 50 yards down the hall. No one was in sight. She walked quickly towards it, with the distance narrowing rapidly. 40 yards, 30, 20… 

“This is zeta reporting. Target in sight, 2nd floor, Atlantica Hall. I repeat-” 

Aqua didn’t give the man a chance to repeat. She dropped her phone and swung her backpack into his stomach, knocking the air out of him, and yanked the radio he’d been speaking into out of his hand, tossing it aside. She didn’t waste any more time knocking the man out. Hopefully he’d stay down. 

Aqua picked up her backpack and shouldered it. She then grabbed her phone and closed the distance to the alarm. 

“Aqua? Aqua?! Are you there?” 

“I’m here,” she said, and pulled the alarm. She heard a sigh of relief from the other end of the line. “And I got one of their radios,” she added, picking up the intact radio and joining the students exiting one of the lecture halls as they poured down the stairs and out the doors. 

“Great. You’ll need it. They’re all headed your way.” 

“What do I do?” 

“I see you. Keep heading that direction. There’ll be more people soon.” 

As he spoke, Aqua heard other alarms going off in other buildings, and people began flowing out of them as well. 

“Head towards your 11:00. One of them is coming in from behind you on the left.” 

Aqua complied, and saw a cluster of people up ahead, standing around and trying to figure out what was going on. She joined them, pulling a hood up to hide her blue hair. 

“Good. Stay there. They’ll be expecting you to make a break for it.” 

Aqua stayed with her unwitting protectors. One of the searchers even passed by just a few feet away, but they simply glanced over the group she was part of and moved on without noticing her. After a few minutes, sirens could be heard, and a swarm of police cars and fire trucks came tearing across the lawn. An officer with a bullhorn got out and began ordering people to head towards the main gates in a calm and orderly fashion. As the crowd moved to obey, whispers began spreading through the mob of people that there was a bomb, or maybe several, planted on this part of campus. 

“You called in a bomb threat?” Aqua said in a low voice so as not to alarm others around her. 

“It’s a good way to clear the area,” was all he said in reply. 

The problem with everyone moving towards the gates was that the searchers were moving that way too. She kept having to dodge this way and that to avoid being seen. But she was almost there. 

“Aqua!” someone called. Snow White. Crap. Aqua heard a response over the radio as the searchers honed in on Snow White, who waved as she pushed through the crowd towards Aqua, acting as a beacon. Rather than searchers, they felt more like hunters, and Aqua was they prey. 

“Just keep heading towards the gates. You can make it.” 

“Zexion, they’ve got me surrounded, and now they know where I am. What in God’s name makes you think I can make it?” 

“You need to trust me.” Aqua made an irritated noise in the back of her throat and forged onward. She could feel them getting close, and her heart was trying to race out of her chest in response. There was no way she was going to make it. As if to confirm her fears, a woman appeared, holding a syringe and looking menacing.There were too many people for Aqua to get away. 

A large paramedic- a veritable giant really- shoved the woman aside and grabbed Aqua’s arm, towing her behind him as he parted the crowd. Lexaeus. 

“Y-you didn’t say Lexaeus was coming himself,” she croaked. 

“I said he had some guys one the way. He just happened to be one of them.” 

Aqua hung up the phone as she was herded into a car. Lexaeus covered his fake uniform with the black coat members of the 13 wore on jobs and got into the driver’s seat. As they sped off, Aqua felt sorry for whoever had to deal with the aftermath. 

Lexaeus took her to the headquarters building, and settled her in a lounge with a plate of cookies. 

“They might be a little stale,” he warned. “They’re from last night.” 

As Aqua munched on a cookie that wasn’t by any means stale to fend off her hunger, she heard an argument approaching. She knew those voices. 

“But it was necessary!” one person protested. 

“Necessary? You couldn’t have used another method? One that didn’t involve angry members of the city council on my phone demanding to know why my organization is pulling bomb hoaxes?!” 

“I was pressed for time!” 

“You’ve been pressed for time before and never done anything this idiotic! I can’t believe you’d stoop to this!” 

“Xemnas, she-” 

“And another thing! Since when do you have the authority to call Lexaeus up and override his responsibilities to get him to go extract your little girlfriend himself?! I give the orders around here, in case you’ve forgotten! And his underlings are plenty capable of rescue missions!” 

“Sir, I-” 

“Enough!” 

Aqua hadn’t noticed getting up and going to the door. Her body had just moved of its own accord. She stepped out into the hallway and there they were: Xemnas and Zexion. They were only a few feet away. 

As soon as Zexion saw her, he abandoned his argument with Xemnas and embraced her tightly. 

“You’re okay,” he whispered over and over. “You’re okay.” 

It felt nice to be hugged like this again. 

* * *

Zexion forgot himself when he saw her. That was all. He hadn’t meant to encroach upon her so suddenly, and once he regained his awareness, he tried to pull away, only to find her arms were locked around him as well. 

It was only when he noticed she was crying that he felt the wetness on his own cheeks. He kissed her tears away, and let her return the favor. Behind him, he heard a long-suffering sigh. 

“I suppose you’ll want the rest of the day off. Well, go on then. Begone.” Zexion didn’t need telling twice. He took Aqua’s hand and they headed for the exit together. Zexion almost didn’t hear Xemnas add “Thanks for saving my cousin, boy.” 

On the drive home, Zexion didn’t say anything, so she spoke first. 

“Hey,” she said. He didn’t respond. “Can we talk?” she asked. He nodded. 

“There’s something I need to say to you.” Here it came. He felt a sinking in his stomach, and knew that this was the part where she told him what had happened at headquarters had simply been nerves, and she wanted him out of her life. 

“Then say it,” he said, his voice hoarse. 

“Um,” she heaved a sigh. “Woo, okay. Well, um, here goes. I know I have no right to be saying this and all, since I’m the one who… I shouldn’t have… What I’m getting at is, I miss you.” 

Wait. What? Had she really said that? Or was this all just some delusion from sleep deprivation or hunger or something? 

“I know,” she continued. “I shouldn’t be saying this when I’m the one who was avoiding you, but… even if I’m afraid, I still love you.” 

“You weren’t avoiding me if you weren’t going out of your way not to see me.” What an idiotic argument he’d just made. Absolutely shameful. 

“I ran away. I didn’t even tell you I called Terra to pick me up so I wouldn’t have to go home. I didn’t answer your calls. How is that not avoiding you?” 

“And I didn’t go to meet you after class or any of the things that have become habit, so I think I’m just as guilty.” 

“This isn’t a competition to see who has more guilt, Zexion.” 

“Of course not. I’m just saying you can say whatever you want to.” 

“Okay then. Like I said, I miss you. I miss you giving me a ride to class, and you trying to teach me to cook without setting off the fire alarm, and reading together in the evenings, and cuddling, and that look you get on your face when your phone goes off and you have to go into work but you’re thinking it’d be nice if you didn’t, which is the exact same thing running through my mind. And so long as we’re apart, I’m going to keep remembering you being angry more than I remember you as my boyfriend. And I don’t want that. And will you please say something, because I’m babbling here and it’s kind of embarrassing.” 

“You want me to say something? Then here.” He pulled the car onto the side of the road and leaned over and kissed her. She let him. He wasn’t sure what he would have done if she had pulled away. “Does that tell you how much I missed you back?” he asked. She nodded. 

The next morning, he found himself reminding her how to use the coffee maker. 

“What’s this, two short weeks away and you’ve already forgotten?” he teased. She stuck her tongue out at him, and when he laughed it was the most amazing feeling. In just two weeks he’d forgotten his own laugh. 

* * *

There was still one thing left to do. Aqua knew what he was up to, but by tacit agreement the topic was taboo. He hoped that these open secrets would not become a part of their relationship. It would only cause pain for both of them. 

It took exactly three days before he finally did trace the perpetrator. If he’d had any doubts that this was no coincidence, they would have vanished. Diz. His one-time tutor who had sold the group who had murdered his parents the information they’d used to ruin his life. He’d let Diz off before due to his respect for the man. But this time there would be no such mercy. 

Diz let no surprise show when Zexion walked into his office. To anyone else this would appear to be a business meeting: the CEO of Radiant Gardens meeting with one of the executive directors of Space Paranoids. Only the two involved knew otherwise. 

“Long time no see,” Diz said. 

“Not since I came to thank you for helping those halfwits kill my parents.” 

“Indeed. As I recall, you told me to jump into a nuclear reactor.” 

“I do believe that’s correct.” 

“And I suppose you’re here to thank me for killing off your little girlfriend. I’d apologize, but she was much too young for you.” 

“No. I came to thank you for attempting to kill my girlfriend. She’s still very alive, we’re still together, and age is not an issue so kindly mind your own business.” 

“Attempting? But the last team I sent emailed me that… ah. I see. You still use the computer skills I taught you.” 

“Yes. They’ve been quite useful.” 

“So I suppose you’ll have more sorry attempts at threats for me today.” 

“No. I’m afraid I’m fresh out.” 

“Oh? Is that so.” 

“Yes. It is. And I don’t intend to see you anymore from now on. Goodbye.” 

Diz watched Zexion leave. “That’s it?” he asked himself. He’d expected more. He’d been around Zexion since the boy was young, and he knew that his temper ran cold. He’d expected rage. But there had been none. 

Zexion waited a few minutes for Xemnas to finish up. He watched all afternoon through the button camera he’d planted as Diz discovered that his company had been sold to its competitor, Hollow Bastion, his finances were completely depleted and he now had several high interest loans to pay back, and he was suddenly on a wanted list. Diz took the news rather well. 

Not surprisingly for someone as canny as Diz, he managed to make it home even with his car repossessed. And there, Zexion shot him, hitting the exact points where bullets had once entered his parents’ bodies. 

Once, revenge had been quite sweet for him. But as Zexion headed home, he couldn’t enjoy it. He didn’t regret killing Diz. The man certainly deserved it. And his death had been necessary for Aqua’s safety. But where once he might have reveled in seeing his enemy taken down, he simply felt empty. It was Aqua. The knowledge of how this would upset her put a damper on things, and also he had changed since being with her. Once again he found himself considering the idea of getting out, of leaving the Yakuza 13. But as before, he dismissed the idea. This was his life. It was who he was. 

For now, he ought to get home. Knowing Aqua, she’d probably wait up for him, even though she was more of a morning person than a night owl. 

Since the incident at Aqua’s school, she had been confined to their apartment for safety’s sake, but now she could finally go back to classes. Her car was still at school, so he dropped her off. As they kissed goodbye, he pressed something into her hand. She looked at the item he’d placed in her palm and stared. 

“Is this?” she asked. 

“Will you?” 

As an answer, she slipped the engagement ring on her finger. It fit perfectly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The twins will be back in the spotlight next week, so if you've missed them, fear not.


	13. Dance The Night Away: Age - 17

For once in their lives, Sora remembered to let Vanitas do the talking. Sora was a nervous talker, so when situations like this arose, he tended to speed-talk and arouse suspicions or even give them away. 

“Sooo, liiike, we were gonna hang out at Uncle Eraqus’s place next Friday,” Vanitas said. “We were gonna go there straight from school and spend the night.” 

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Roxas said. 

“Great.” 

“Though just to be sure, you did confirm this with Eraqus first, right?” 

“Trust me, Roxas, we’d never try that on Uncle Eraqus.” 

“Trust you? I don’t know Van, you’re a little…” Roxas teased. 

“A little what? I am very trustworthy you know.” Sora snorted. Vanitas chose to ignore his twin’s response. 

“Really, papa. We talked to Uncle first, I swear,” Sora said, and Vanitas forgave him for snorting. That was a very smooth cover up there, and it was completely believable. Vanitas hadn’t known Sora had it in him. Then again, this was his twin. As different as they were, they were two halves of a whole, so they were also the same. 

“Alright. I’ll let Saix know so he can tell whoever is parenting that day,” Roxas said. 

The twins left the living room and went up to Vanitas’s bedroom, where they shut the door and collectively heaved a sigh. Even Vanitas had been nervous down there. There was so much at stake here, so many weeks spent planning. They had things down to the last detail- they’d even carefully chosen which parent to talk to. 

Next Friday was a big night for them. And it was one their parents definitely could not find out about. It was the night of their junior prom. 

* * *

The afternoon of the prom was spent in a flurry of preparation. After Eraqus picked them up, the twins and Ven all had to go pick up their tuxedos. Next they had to stop at the flower shop for the corsage Sora had ordered for Kairi. Then they had to go home and shower. Vanitas took rather long, since he was adding fresh dye to his hair to touch up his growing roots. Next they had to fix their hair so they wouldn’t look like their usual sea urchin duo and fluff-head selves, and get changed into their tuxedos. Finally they had to stand around while Terra and Aqua took a ridiculous amount of photos, then they drove over to Kairi’s to pick her up and got treated to more of the same. After what seemed like an eon, they were ready to go, and piled into Eraqus’s car to be chauffeured to the prom. 

Inside the boys met up with their friends and found the tables they’d be at for the dinner portion. Ven was at a different table than the twins, while Vanitas sat with Sora, Kairi, and some of Kairi’s friends. He spent dinner chatting with a girl from Kairi’s circle who was so vapid he felt like biting off his tongue just to end the inanity of it all, but eventually she turned to another victim, and Vanitas was spared. 

After the dinner there was the prom court’s dances, then the floor was finally open. Vanitas was glad that there would finally be something fun to do. He and Sora both loved to dance, though Sora was always a total dork about it where Vanitas was more the type to spend hours watching music videos to learn all the latest dance crazes. Unfortunately for Vanitas, the dj didn’t start off with something lively with a good beat like he would have liked; instead he busted out a classic slow dance piece. Vanitas wished he’d snuck in one of Xigbar’s guns so he could shoot the dj. 

Disgusted, Vanitas turned away from the dance floor, and noticed that there were glass doors to a balcony tucked away in a corner. As Sora and Kairi headed for the dance floor, Vanitas went in the opposite direction and slipped out onto the balcony. 

The night air was just the thing Vanitas needed. The cool breeze made him realize that the ridiculous mingling had been suffocating him. Out here he didn’t need to try to fit their stupid mold. He’d never needed friends the way Sora did. They were just a convenience, and right now they weren’t fulfilling that purpose, so he didn’t want to be near them. 

Vanitas stared up at the stars, trying to see them the way others did. Sora saw them as possibilities, and made wishes on them every night. His cousins saw them as signs of distant worlds, unreachable but still connected. His parents had varying views- balls of gas that burned themselves into oblivion, treasures to conquer, goals to reach for. But to Vanitas they were just empty dots in the sky. He couldn’t even associate the constellations as more than a pattern within the dots. Heroes and animals and monsters? As if. 

“You know you’re not supposed to be out here,” someone said, closing the glass doors. 

“Up yours. I make my own rules.” 

“No kidding,” the speaker said, coming up beside Vanitas. A breeze caused long silver hair to drift into Vanitas’s field of vision. As if he hadn’t recognized the voice. Riku. 

“So what brings you out here, loser?" Vanitas drawled. "Did you develop a sudden ken for breaking the rules? Or was your date stepping on your feet during the slow dance?” 

“No, I-” 

“Oh please tell me you didn’t bring your sister as your date. Rebecca’s a nice girl and all, but that’s super lame.” 

“I came alone. Which is probably even more lame to you, right?” 

“Actually, that’s pretty cool. Eschew those social expectations and get a single bid. Go us!” 

“Us?” 

“Do you see anybody hanging around me?” 

“I just thought, er, I mean, uh, you’re pretty popular and all, so it should have been no problem for you to get a date. A-and I saw you talking to that one girl at dinner and thought that must be your date.” 

“True, I could have gotten a date, but I didn’t. I’m only here because there’s no way I can let Sora go to a party without me. Sit at home while he’s out having fun? No way. And as for your little observation, two things. One, not my type. Just because I’m pan doesn’t mean I’m not picky. I like people who have brains, and I swear that girl had a negative IQ. No thanks.” 

“And the second thing?” 

“The second thing. How shall I phrase this? Hm. I guess I just wanted to ask why you were looking. Like, is it that you can’t keep your eyes off me? Ah, the burden of being attractive, when everyone you know is completely focused on you all the time.” 

“Get lost.” 

“So that you can come find me?” 

“Shut up.” Riku’s face was rather red, to the point that even in the low lighting it was apparent. 

Vanitas magnanimously complied. Inside, they heard the slow dance music end, and the real music began. The bass resonated in the glass doors, and Vanitas tapped his fingers on the balcony railing along with it. 

“Aren’t you going to go back in?” Riku asked him. 

“Nah, I’ll wait a bit longer I think.” 

“I thought you liked to dance?” 

“Yeah, but I’d feel bad leaving you all alone out here like the loser you are.” 

“You’re a jerk, you know that?” 

Vanitas laughed. 

“Also this isn’t really what I thought a prom would be like,” he admitted. 

“What did you think it would be like?” Riku asked. 

“I dunno. Like the movies, maybe.” 

“Oh, you mean with the one special someone or whatever?” Riku was getting red again. 

“I was thinking more like with zombies. Or someone going crazy and causing a bloodbath.” 

Riku shuddered. “Just what kind of movies have you been watching?” 

“I just don’t like those sappy love stories, okay? Just like you don’t like horror movies.” 

“I do like horror movies!” 

“Oh right, that’s why you always squeak and jump and cringe in the corner, and that one time when we went to see _Shriek_ you nearly wet yourself.” 

“Okay, I’m not good with horror movies. But that doesn’t mean I don’t like them!” 

“Wow. You are seriously messed up.” 

“I’m certainly starting to think that.” 

“Why’s that?” 

“Because I like-” Riku’s eyes went wide and he clamped his mouth shut. Vanitas suddenly felt nervous. Riku liked someone? But that wasn’t allowed. Riku was one of the few people Vanitas genuinely got along with. Vanitas and Sora hadn’t managed to keep in touch with very many people from their childhood, and Riku was the first person who had. He’d been the first friend to ever come over to their house, the first to ever spend the night, and once they’d gotten their first email account, he’d been the first person the twins had emailed. But if he liked someone, then he would drift away, just like Sora had started to drift away since he’d started dating Kairi. And then Vanitas would be all alone. 

“Ooh, Riku’s got a crush? Tell me tell me!” Vanitas said, trying not to let any of his true feelings into his voice. Riku looked away, and Vanitas regretted pressing the subject. Riku looked so miserable. Vanitas suddenly realized that he was afraid of the answer, because he really did want Riku to be unable to take his eyes off of him. It wasn’t that he didn’t want Riku to fall for anyone- it was that he didn’t want Riku to fall for anyone but him. 

* * *

Back at the twins’ house, there was a small gathering of the parents. None of them wanted to admit it, but every time the twins had a slumber party or stayed out late, it just reminded them that their boys were growing up, and would leave the nest soon. They all coped with it in varying ways- Lexaeus and Xaldin arm wrestled, Saix and Axel sat on the couch watching tearjerker movies while Saix let Axel play with his hair, Luxord and Larxene bickered, and Demyx tuned his sitar. No doubt the others were also trying to cope, just in a more private manner. 

“Can you believe those ungrateful little whelps,” Larxene snapped. “Just who do they think they are, acting as if they don’t need us?” 

“Well maybe if SOME of us had been better parents,” Luxord snapped back. 

“Those boys have been acting odd, if you ask me,” Lexaeus said. “They seem to be having lots of whispered conversations recently, and if you walk into the room they try to act ‘normal’ to the point that it’s suspicious.” 

“I agree,” Xaldin said. “There’s been some unexplained activity on their bank account. I had Zexion look into it and he said it was to the school, and to a tailor’s.” 

“A tailor’s?” Axel asked, sitting up straighter. “Since when do our boys go to a tailor’s?” 

“Wait a minute wait a minute,” Demyx said. What’s today’s date?” 

“It’s the 27th, why?” 

“I completely forgot about it until now, but when I went to that one parent night, they were talking about, well a lot of stuff, and it was all pretty boring, and I almost fell asleep, and-” 

“Get on with it!” Saix snapped. 

“I’m getting there. Anyways, they said something about a prom. Junior prom. And I think that’s today.” 

“What?!?” Everyone yelled at once. 

“We’ve gotta get everyone over here,” Xaldin said, and forfeited the arm wrestling match to dive for his phone. 

The remaining leaders of the Yakuza 13 all showed up rather quickly, all under the impression that the twins were in serious danger. Roxas even brought Xion and a rather sleepy Ephemer. 

“What’s the situation?” Xemnas barked as he swept in, making a stately entrance with Xigbar. 

“You won’t believe this, but those twins are at their prom,” Luxord said. 

“Is this a joke?” Vexen asked, since Xemnas was speechless. 

“No, really. It’s their prom, and they went without even telling us.” 

“I don’t believe this,” Roxas muttered. “This was the big emergency?” 

“What part of ‘they went to prom without telling us’ don’t you understand?” Larxene yelled. “It’s an insult, that’s what it is!” 

“Has anyone confirmed this?” Xemnas asked. 

“Not exactly. But based on their account activity and the fact that it’s the right night for it-” Xaldin began. 

“I want confirmation.” 

“Alright, we’d better call Eraqus, since that’s where the twins claimed to be staying the night,” Saix said. 

“No need,” Zexion said, walking in late. “When I told Aqua there was an emergency with the twins she fessed up that they’re at their prom. She even had pictures, if anyone would like to see.” 

“Ooh, I want!” Xigbar said, and was echoed by Axel, Marluxia, Larxene, Luxord, and Xion. 

“Alright, in that case, I’m going home,” Xemnas said. 

“You can’t do that!” Demyx exclaimed, then added a belated “Sir.” 

“Why not?” 

“Because we can’t let this slide. Those boys went behind our backs, and they need to be taught a lesson,” Xaldin said. 

“What are you suggesting?” Xemnas sighed, sitting back down. It was rare to see Xaldin and Demyx agreeing on anything. Larxene, Luxord, Demyx, Saix, Axel, Xaldin, and Lexaeus all smirked or grinned maliciously. 

“We’re suggesting we crash their prom.” 

* * *

Sora was just beginning to wonder if he should search for Vanitas when Vanitas found him. 

“Vanitas! Where have you been? I was starting to get worried,” Sora said. He just managed to get it out before Vanitas snagged his arm and dragged him off to a far corner. 

“Vanitas, what’s going on?” Sora asked. With Vanitas, being dragged off like this could mean he’d started a fight and Sora was likely to get pummeled in his place if left unprepared, or that he was getting bored, or that he was using Sora as an excuse to evade someone else, or that they needed to get out of there and go home ASAP because something was going on with their parents’ gang and they had to be careful not to get caught up in it. 

“Sora, you’ve got to help me,” Vanitas said, panicked. That most likely meant a fight or evasion, but neither of those would make Vanitas panic. What on earth was going on? 

“Okay. What’s the problem?” Sora asked. 

“Riku. Riku’s the problem.” Oh great. Had Vanitas done something stupid again? 

“What do you mean?” 

“He- I- Sora, I think I don’t hate him,” Vanitas hissed. 

“Meaning you like him,” Sora said. It was about time Vanitas realized that. 

“That’s what I said, isn’t it?” 

“Congratulations,” Sora said. 

“You’ve got a girlfriend. What do I do?” 

“Vanitas, you’ve dated more people than me.” 

“Yeah, but those were different.” 

“Different how?” 

“Well for starters, THEY asked ME out. Not the other way around.” 

“It won’t kill you to be the first to confess.” 

“Ugh, I don’t want to. I know! I’ll make him want to ask me out! Except that he said he likes someone, so that won’t work, and Sora, what do I do?” Vanitas moaned. 

“Okay, first of all, when you like someone, you shouldn’t be playing mind games with them. That’s just wrong.” Vanitas opened his mouth to say something, but Sora held up a finger to signal he should wait. “Second, just do it. Or else you have to take back every time you’ve called me a fraidy cat.” 

“But-” 

“No buts. Got it?” 

“Fine.” 

“You can do it. You’re my brother, after all,” Sora said with a smile. 

Vanitas smiled back, but in his mind he was trying to muster up the courage to go talk to Riku and tell him the truth. 

* * *

The leaders of the Yakuza 13 plus Xion and Ephemer sauntered into the ballroom where the prom was being held as if they owned the place. Which, as it happened, they did. 

“Lexaeus, do you see them?” Demyx asked as Xemnas and Xigbar smoothed things over with the chaperoning teachers with threats and sweet talk. It didn’t matter that most of the Yakuza 13 leaders were over six feet tall, Lexaeus was still the one they turned to whenever height was an advantage. Lexaeus shook his head. 

“Xion, may we have the Sora radar please?” Axel asked, and Ephemer was passed to Lexaeus. 

“Ephemer, can you help me find Sora?” Lexaeus asked. The toddler didn't understand yet, being only 16 months old, but he'd already developed a strong attachment for Sora and instinctively sought him ought. Within seconds, Ephemer was shrieking unintelligibly and pointing towards a corner. The parents all followed his gaze to the direction he was pointing. Sure enough, the twins were there. 

“Alright, let’s go,” Larxene said. 

“Speak for yourself. I’m gonna go have a word with the dj because this music sucks,” Demyx said. If Demyx said so, you knew it was true. He kept up with music trends, and even traded cds with the twins, which none of the other parents dared to do. Modern music was so cacophonous. 

“You do that,” Xemnas said, and gave the order to move out. Effortlessly, the Yakuza 13 leaders integrated themselves into the crowd, slowly but surely making their way to the twins. 

* * *

Sora had just gotten back to Kairi when the music suddenly changed. There was a cheer as a remix of a popular song came on. It was upbeat and fun, and great music for dancing. Sora was about to call Vanitas over from where he was still brooding when a voice yelled over the music “Mind if I cut in?” 

Sora whirled in a panic. Why was Axel here? 

“He may not mind, but I do!” Saix yelled. 

Sora’s knees were suddenly wobbly. Saix and Axel were at his prom. His junior prom. The prom that they weren’t supposed to know about. 

A voice in the music echoed in Sora’s brain. He knew that voice, as it had sang him lullabies when he was a kid. He whirled again and saw that the dj had changed, and that Demyx was now running the show. 

“No way…” he whispered. 

“Way,” Xigbar said, having read his lips. He was accompanied by Xemnas, who looked ready to kill someone. 

“Uh, Kairi? I think I have to go now,” Sora called to her. 

“Oh no you don’t,” Xemnas said. “If I have to suffer through this appalling music then you have to suffer through prom with your parents.” 

“Are you ALL here?” Sora asked. All the parents surrounding him nodded. 

“But why?” 

“It’s your penance for trying to leave us in the dark, if you’ll pardon the pun,” Axel said. “Now let’s stop standing around and dance!” 

As Sora was dragged into motion by his dad, he tried not to cry. 

* * *

Vanitas was still pondering what to do when a shape blocked out the lighting from the dance floor. He looked up and gulped. Standing around him were Lexaeus, Larxene, and Zexion. Behind them he could see Xaldin and Vexen making their way over. Looking around some more he saw Marluxia and Luxord over by the drinks table sampling the punch. He hoped they wouldn’t add any alcohol to the bowl, as that would not go over well. The table where Ven was still sitting with his friends now had another three occupants, and they were Roxas, Xion, and Ephemer. Another four parents surrounded Sora on the dance floor, and Demyx was now djing the prom. Vanitas wasn’t sure how this had happened, but he was pretty sure that it meant that he was in trouble, and also that he wasn’t likely to get out a confession tonight. 

“Uh, hi guys,” Vanitas said with false cheer. 

“My _my_ , do you look good in a tux,” Larxene said. Vanitas really hoped that his mom wasn’t hitting on him. But Larxene looked more proud than interested. 

“Alright everyone, I hope you liked that because there’s more in store,” Demyx said as the music song ended. “And now, I’d like to bring back a classic that I am dedicating to my dear sons, Sora and Vanitas.” 

As everyone laughed and whistled, Vanitas and Sora’s eyes met from across the room. They could see their own thoughts reflected in each other’s eyes. They both just wanted the Earth to open up under their feet and steal them away from this nightmare. 

* * *

For a little over a year now, Riku had been very conflicted. Ever since that time last March when Sora and Vanitas had dressed as girls, things had been confusing. He’d never really thought about… love… before then. But when he’d “met” the twins as “Ophelia” and “Violet”, he realized that they were the first girls he was interested in. It was a shocking realization. Up until then, he’d thought his agreeing with his sister that this actor or that was hot was just normal appreciation of beauty standards. But “Ophelia” and “Violet” made him realize he found guys attractive. Except if those girls interested him, did he really? 

Then, just when he’d been in the midst of wondering if he was gay instead of straight or if was he actually bi, the “girls” had turned out to be guys. And none other than his old friends, Sora and Vanitas. And from that moment on, he couldn’t get over the fact that Vanitas, as himself or as a girl, was _hot_. 

After talking on the balcony, Vanitas had left Riku alone. Riku had almost followed him back inside, but still found himself back out on the balcony, embarrassed at how he’d nearly confessed. He stayed there for a while, until the doors opened and none other than Vanitas’s dad Zexion came staggering out, slamming the door shut and then heaving a huge sigh. Moments later, another of Sora and Vanitas’s parents had come out and dragged the former back in, and Riku knew that something big was going on. He headed back inside, and couldn’t believe his eyes. 

As he scanned the room, Riku was able to spot all fourteen of Sora and Vanitas’s parents. He had no clue what they were doing there, but it would certainly have a huge impact on his friends. He made his way to where the twins were surrounded by a few of their parents and a good many classmates, who were all listening intently to Luxord telling an embarrassing story from the twins’ childhood. Ouch. 

Riku stayed on the fringes of the crowd for the rest of the evening. The twins were constantly near their parents, and clearly suffering from it. Even when Sora headed off to the bathroom he was accompanied by a couple of his dads. Riku felt sorry for his friends. He wondered if there was anything he could do to help. 

Riku wasn’t sure how it happened, but eventually he found himself standing next to Vanitas, with not a parent in sight. 

“Where’d your parents go?” he asked. 

Vanitas made a “tch” sound with his tongue. 

“They’re off with Sora while he takes his prom photos. I got out after the first few. God they’re annoying.” 

“Parents often are.” 

“Yeah, but most parents don’t come to crash one’s prom.” 

“I suppose not. Why did they do that?” 

“Apparently they got mad at us for not telling them about it.” 

“Wait, you didn’t tell your parents about your prom?! Are you nuts?!” 

“We didn’t want them making a big deal out of it.” 

“Yeah, nice job.” Vanitas grunted in response, then sighed. 

“Listen, Riku. About that person you like.” 

“Oh that. F-forget I said anything I didn’t-” Vanitas grabbed Riku’s hand, and Riku completely lost his already incoherent train of thought. Suddenly he couldn’t focus on anything but the feel of his friend’s touch on his hand. 

“I don’t want you to like them, Vanitas whispered, and Riku might not have heard had he not been completely electrified by the moment. “I want you to like me. L-like I like you.” 

Another slow dance song came on, and Riku grabbed Vanitas’s other hand, guiding him to the dance floor. It happened naturally, them stepping closer together and spending the song in each other’s arms. The world didn’t exactly fall away, and time didn’t stand still. The song ended, and Riku stood awkwardly feeling like a marionette while the next song began and people began dancing. But before Vanitas stepped away, he trailed his fingers through Riku’s hair, bringing strands of it to his face with a sly smile, leaving Riku’s face feeling hot for the rest of the night. 

* * *

The day after prom, Riku awoke to a text from Vanitas. 

“Grounded for the weekend and already dying of boredom. Come over and save us.” 

Riku sighed. Of course it had just been Vanitas teasing him. He rolled over and tried to remember the dream he’d been having so he could go back to sleep. 

Riku’s phone dinged again, and he reluctantly looked back at it. When he saw the text, he almost dropped it, for there on the screen, was another text from Vanitas. 

“Date me?”


	14. Rite of Passage: Age - 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Violence, shoot-outs

Saix sighed. Axel was spoiling the twins again. It was their summer vacation, and Axel seemed intent on spending their one day a week with the twins having a blast- though not _always_ literally. Last week they’d gone to an amusement park, the week before that was the beach, and the week before that they’d taken a train to another city just to taste the original sea-salt ice cream. As if you couldn’t get sea-salt ice cream back home, but Axel claimed the original was so much better. Axel could be so weird. 

This week they’d gone and smashed watermelons in a field for some reason or other, and were now eating ice cream cones while they waited for darkness to fall so that Axel could set off the fireworks he’d brought. Saix hoped that they were pre-tested. Axel was usually pretty good about these things, but Saix couldn’t help remembering that time when they’d first gotten the twins. 

Saix felt a bit conflicted about spending the twins’ time off like this. Sure, they certainly deserved it, and it was fun, but his almost-forgotten parenting guides insisted that children ought not achieve all their desires with ease, as this could set them up for failure and also turn them into rotten little brats. But Saix couldn’t ever see Sora turning into a rotten brat, or letting Vanitas go that route. And he also couldn’t see Vanitas failing at anything he set his mind to, and Vanitas would help Sora out. So between the two they would be alright, most likely. 

Axel’s phone rang. He pulled it out, ready to silence it and put it back away, but then made a face and answered the call with a sigh. 

“Yello. Axel here.” Saix flinched at his partner’s standard phone greeting. It was so gauche. Axel listened a moment, and paled. 

“Um, boss, could you back that thought up a bit please? Saix and I are on duty today. Y’know, with the twins? We can’t take them along to-” Saix leaned in, and was able to overhear the rest of the conversation. Xemnas spoke rather loudly into the phone, as he didn’t really understand that phones had evolved since his childhood. 

“Well I don’t care if you have the twins. They’re seventeen already. That’s more than old enough to be helping out around here! You two were seventeen when you started out, and Roxas and Zexion were even younger. And of course there’s Xigbar, who claims he did his first assassination when he was twelve, though I find that a little hard to believe…” 

“Ah, well, speaking of Xigbar, what does he think of the twins coming along?” Xigbar had been trying to teach the twins to shoot since they were little. Recently he’d moved them to trying out actual guns rather than just bb guns or paintball guns. Vanitas had adjusted okay, but Sora could not seem to get used to the recoil or the noise. He flinched just about every time, and while he was as excellent shot as any student of Xigbar’s would be with a fake gun, he’d be lucky to hit the broadside of a barn when firing the real deal. And if Saix and Axel were getting an emergency call on one of their parenting days, chances were that shooting would be involved. 

“Xigbar is not the decision maker around here,” Xemnas replied coldly. 

“Alright. As you say. Yes sir and all,” Axel sighed, rolling his eyes. Luckily Xemnas wasn’t very quick to pick up on Axel’s attitudes, and so he didn’t detect any sarcasm as the call was ended. Saix shook his head. His greatest fear was that one day his partner would someday go too far and piss Xemnas off. It was possible that Xemnas would exact his revenge on the both of them due to their intimate relationship, but also possible that he would limit his ire to just Axel as Saix was unparalleled in his ability to process paperwork- an ability that Saix had honed specifically to safeguard their positions and use as a bargaining chip in case Axel crossed the line. Sure, Demyx pushed the limits of Xemnas’s patience all the time and was still okay despite that, but it was a lot harder to replace someone with Demyx’s connections and talent for striking a bargain than it was to replace a pyromaniac. 

“What’s the situation?” 

“Well Demyx was supposed to be cutting a deal with Wargoyles and he blew it. And apparently we’re the only ones nearby who aren’t ‘busy’.” 

Saix ran a hand down his face. His scar was aching. It tended to do that at times like this. 

“And how is parenting for the twins not busy?” he asked. 

“Like I know. Especially since these days there seems to be a rather flexible definition of ‘busy’.” 

“Well, that’s not something that can be helped at the moment. For now, we should take the boys home and-” 

“Xemnas said there’s no time. We’ve gotta take them with us. Besides, from what he said Demyx is under some serious fire. We’ll both be needed to fight things out, so one of them can drive.” 

“One of them?” The two men looked at where their boys were splashing each other with water from the nearby fountain they’d gone to wash their hands in. Their shirts were soaked, and they were attracting a lot of appreciative glances from passing girls. 

“Let’s see, maybe Vanitas…” Axel suggested, and trailed off. Vanitas was a confident driver, and reasonably so. He was good at it. But that was just the problem. Sometimes his confidence bordered on overconfidence. He took risks, relying on his instincts and reflexes to avoid accidents. They hadn’t failed him yet, but it could be kind of nerve-wracking. Not that they wouldn’t be heading into a nerve-wracking situation, but still. That was all the more reason to preserve their nerves while they still could. Besides, that would leave Sora as their cover gunner if things resulted in a car chase. 

“But Sora…” Saix began. But there was no way he could give voice to the rest of that thought. Sora had somehow taken after Eraqus in being one of the most legal drivers ever. He drove the speed limit, never ran lights, always stopped at stop signs and signaled his lane changes and turns, never crossed solid white lines or double yellow lines, etc. If things went wrong, they might end up in a car chase. You couldn’t obey the rules in a car chase. 

“Right, better be Van,” the two men agreed simultaneously. Because after all the years they’d been together, both as boyfriends and before that as best friends, of course they were on the same wavelength, even if they had differing personalities. 

They walked up to the boys just in time to get splashed by the results of Vanitas tackling Sora and diving into the fountain with him. As the twins staggered to their feet, laughing and pushing each each other so that the simple task took far longer than necessary, Saix spoke up. 

“Boys, Xemnas needs us to go pick up Demyx.” 

“Okay. We’ll wait here,” Vanitas said, his eyes glinting with mischief. 

“No, you’re coming too.” 

“Saix, I really think that we’re old enough to not need babysitting anymore. Sora and I can take care of ourselves. You guys have all seen to that.” 

Indeed, the parents had been teaching the twins various skills for fighting since they were kids. It had once been their hope that the twins would take over the Yakuza 13 one day. But now that they were older, the thirteen were starting to feel the opposite of that. Sora definitely was not suited for this kind of life, and while Vanitas could handle it, they wanted more for him. And also they were slightly worried he’d turn out to be quite evil if they left him with a gang. He might not reach Xehanort-like proportions of evil, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t be a problem. 

“We need a driver,” Saix replied. 

“Ooh! I’ll drive!” both twins chorused. 

“Sorry, but it’s best if we let Van take the wheel for this one,” Axel told them. Vanitas cheered as Sora slumped. 

“It’s ‘cause his nickname is Van, isn’t it?” Sora muttered. 

“No, it’s because I don’t drive as if I’m afraid of it, Sor,” Vanitas shot back. 

“I’m just following the rules!” 

“Psht, rules shmools. Rules are meant to be broken.” 

“Oh?” Saix asked, arching an eyebrow. Vanitas sensed danger and clammed up. 

After Axel dug a pair of the black coats the Yakuza 13 wore for official jobs out from under the back seat, the four of them got into Axel’s jeep and Axel gave directions as they drove to get them to the pick-up location Xemnas had given them. 

As they drove up, everything was calm. They parked in front of a staircase that led belowground- possibly an old subway station or a maintenance tunnel of some sort. 

“Down there,” Axel said with a nod, loading a couple of handguns and shoving them at the twins. Vanitas took his without hesitation, but Sora fumbled his, making Axel very glad he’d left the safety on. 

“Axel, are you sure this is the-” Saix began, but was interrupted by a boom that shook the ground. 

“Was that…?” Sora asked. 

“Woah cool! I think they’ve got some dynamite down there! These days everyone just uses C4, which is pretty lame if you ask me. Nice to see someone spicing it up!” Axel exclaimed, his eyes shining. 

“Nevermind,” Saix sighed. 

“Pappy, Ma, you’re not seriously going in there!” Sora protested. 

“Of course we are. Once this guy goes berserk, he’s nearly indestructible. Like this one time, there was this molotov cocktail that blew up right by his feet and he was fine. It’s pretty cool.” 

“Axel, you were the one who threw that molotov.” 

“Wait, you remember that? I thought you weren’t really aware of what goes on when you’re all in berserker mode. You just kill everyone. Except me. And others on our side. Mostly me. And that was an accident, by the way.” 

“Axel, one always remembers being nearly blown up by their own boyfriend, regardless of their mental state at the time.” 

“Oh. Well I am sorry.” 

“I know that, or we wouldn’t still be together.” 

“Okay cool then.” 

“You two wait here. We’ll be back in a bit,” Saix ordered as Axel scooped up a few of the fireworks he’d made for the evening and a pair of chakrams he liked to carry. 

“Wait here? No way! We’re coming with!” Vanitas exclaimed. 

“No, we can wait,” Sora said quickly. 

“Alright, you can come along, and assuming you survive more than five seconds once things get going, you’ll run out of ammo after only a few shots, and Sora’s shots will all miss, and then you’ll have nothing to fight with and will only be dead weight. No, you will wait here boys. That is an order,” Saix snapped. He picked up his claymore and jumped out of the jeep, Axel at his heels. As they ran in, coats flapping, neither of them heard Vanitas comment that at least a gun was a far more practical weapon than ridiculously outdated chakrams and misshapen giant swords. 

* * *

The two men entered the tunnels slowly, keeping close to the walls. A smarter ambush would be further in, when their escape would be cut off, but they still had to be on their guard. An early attack might potentially catch them by surprise, and could appeal to their enemies for that reason. Or their enemies could simply be idiots and not consider the benefits of waiting for the attack. 

“It’s dark down here,” Saix observed calmly. 

“Gee, there’s a shocker. We’re under the ground, there’s only emergency lighting which is pretty dim, so why on Earth would it be dark?” Axel replied. 

“No need to be sarcastic.” 

“I thought you said my sarcasm was one of my better qualities.” 

“Did I? I was being sarcastic.” 

“I ignore sarcasm when the true meaning is unfavorable.” 

“Shh, sound travels in empty spaces like this.” 

Their eyes adjusted, and they moved further in. They made sure to look around carefully, both to be certain there was no one hiding in wait and to memorize their surroundings, as any sudden lights could be blinding, and they didn’t want to be at a disadvantage if they needed to make a speedy getaway with their vision inhibited. 

The tunnels proved to be a maze, making their observations even more essential. Both Saix and Axel found themselves wondering if it wouldn’t be a good idea to head back to the car and have the boys call for back-up. But it could be difficult to mobilize people during the daytime. It was probably why Xemnas had sent them and not a team. They continued onward. 

After winding their way through the various twists of the tunnels, they heard the fight up ahead. 

“I guess I’d better get ready,” Saix said in a low voice. It was code for him going berserk. 

“Why not wait till we get closer so I can toss one or two of these babies in first?” Axel asked, holding up one of the fireworks he’d brought along. “And that way you don’t get almost blown up or anything.” 

“Those can’t possibly be good for a fight if we were going to set them off with the boys.” Axel grinned. “My god Axel. Are you trying to kill us all? It’s one thing if you endanger me, but I cannot accept you trying to blow up the twins!” 

“Wait, so you’re okay with getting hurt because of my explosives?” 

“Not exactly. I just happen to enjoy your concern on my behalf.” 

“Hmm, so that attempt to set you off didn’t work.” 

“In other words, they’re not actually all that powerful.” 

“Ehhh, they’ve got a bit of bang to them. But mostly they’ll be good for stunning. I’d recommend putting in earplugs, but I doubt they’ll affect you once you’re all hulked out.” 

Saix sighed. 

“Okay, so trying to convince you I’d endangered the twins didn’t work. Next try. Ummmm, hmmmmmmm. I don’t want to injure you, so I guess I should just-” 

“Look out!” Saix hissed, and knocked Axel aside as he tripped a wire that sent a miniature avalanche of rocks down to bury them. 

“Oops,” Axel said. It was hard to tell if he meant it or not. The lighting was dim enough that Axel might have missed the wire, but creating real danger was a tactic he’d used to get Saix to go berserk before. Whatever the case, it worked. Saix stood slowly, and with a bestial roar, he charged ahead. Axel followed, ready to light the fuses of his fireworks and toss them into the fracas. 

As Saix charged in, Demyx was waving his nunchucks wildly. Demyx was a wonder, as he could somehow use his nunchucks expertly while still managing to look completely inept. By waving them around like that, he was managing to deflect the bullets coming at him as he ran for cover. Judging by the bullet holes peppering support pillars, he’d been trying to slowly progress towards the exit. 

“Ah thank god, you guys are finally-!” Demyx didn’t finish the statement, as he had to drop to the ground and roll to avoid Saix’s sweeping claymore. 

“Aw crap! Why didn’t you warn me he was berserk!” Demyx yelled at Axel. 

“You might want to close your eyes and cover your ears moron!” Axel called back. 

“What?” Demyx replied. And then the first of Axel’s fireworks went off. Demyx clapped his hands over his ears, spewing a slew of curses and random words that were completely incoherent after the first couple of words. “Mother monkeys pitcher sonuva ass anglican treble fuck basketball George!” 

“I warned you,” Axel said from around the corner. He was holding an earplug just so he could listen to his colleague’s ire. What friend wouldn’t? 

Eventually Axel put his earplug back in and began tossing in the rest of his fireworks. Saix ignored the fireworks, as expected, and laid waste to many of the Wargoyles. But there was no way he’d be able to take them all out before they recovered from the deafening and blinding side effects of Axel’s homemade fireworks. 

* * *

“I think they’re taking too long. We should go in and help,” Vanitas said. He was playing with the clip in his gun, taking it out and putting it back in, and had a feverish look in his eyes that Sora didn’t trust. Vanitas usually got that look right before he did something that got them into trouble. 

“But we need to stay here. Pappy said-” 

“Sora, listen to yourself. Don’t you realize how childish you sound? I mean, you still call them Pappy and Ma. Saix isn’t even a woman, so why call him Ma? And the others too! Daddy Xigbar and Pop Xaldin and all, it’s ridiculous. Grow up. And while you’re at it, grow a pair, because if we stick around here, Saix and Axel will probably die, and I will too because this boredom is killing me!” 

“And what if we need to make a break for it? Someone’s gotta drive!” 

“Then you do it! Keep the engine running and we can skedaddle as soon as me and the ‘rents get back!” 

“Oh right, because you really want me driving when we make a speedy getaway. We both know why they had you drive, Vanny.” 

“Yeah, you are the most chicken driver I’ve ever seen. I’ve seen turtles that are faster than your driving.” 

“Actually, turtles aren’t necessarily all that slow in their natural environment. Tortoises, on the other hand,-” 

“Oh god you’re such a nerd. How did we come from the same egg originally?” 

“Who’s the nerd now? Besides, we could be fraternal. Maybe. Not likely. But it’s not impossible. I bet if you asked Dad, he’d calculate the odds of us looking so similar and being fraternal.” 

“Yeah, and he’d probably also calculate the odds of fraternal twins vs identical twins, and of the likelihood of both twins surviving to birth, and of one twin swallowing the other, and of you being a huge dweeb while I’m such cool sexy hotness.” 

“Cool and hot are opposites.” 

“Technically cool is the opposite of warm and hot is the opposite of cold. And besides, they’re not opposites when they’re traits of a human being, you nitwit.” 

“Am I a nerd and a dweeb or am I a nitwit?” 

“Just shut up. Also, you can totally be all three, twit.” 

“I'm not gonna shut up. It’s distracting you so you don’t go down there.” 

“You know what? You’re right. So enough of this, I’m going. Bye.” 

Vanitas hopped out of the jeep rather than use the door, leaving the keys in the ignition, just in case. He was not surprised to hear a door slamming behind him though, and Sora’s steps hurrying to catch up to him. Well Sora could try and stop him all he wanted, but he wasn’t going to let anything, not even his twin, get in his way. 

“If we get grounded for this, you owe me big time. As in, cleaning the bathroom is your chore for the rest of the summer,” Sora griped. Vanitas smiled. Sora may complain, but it would be nice to have someone along. And to not have to waste time beating the crap out of his twin. He was glad Sora was coming along. Vanitas would never admit it, but beyond the adrenaline rushing through him, he was just the teensiest bit scared. Being together made him feel braver, whether because he knew that together they were the best or because Sora somehow took up all the scared and left none for Vanitas. 

* * *

It was not easy to get Saix to retreat once he went berserk. The best option was to lure the Wargoyles into following them, even though it was a completely counterintuitive action. They needed to escape these guys, so they had to get them to follow them. Or abandon Saix, but after all these years together, the thirteen were too close for even Demyx to suggest ditching a comrade. 

The fortunate thing was that Demyx, being Demyx, was very good at drawing out people’s anger until they were willing to follow him to the ends of the Earth to end him. It was that ability that had gotten him into this situation in the first place. No doubt he had been his usual annoying self until the Wargoyles had decided they couldn’t take it and decided to just get rid of him. The thing was, he was actually a good diplomat, and wouldn’t have gone so far unless negotiations were already deteriorating. 

“What went wrong, exactly?” Axel asked as they wove around rubble in a hallway. 

“Oh, you know, they were being uncooperative, implying they wanted to take over our turf, calling Xemnas an incompetent old man and saying he was infirm, that kind of stuff,” Demyx panted. 

“So no good to begin with, huh?” 

“Yeah, no good. Can you believe they even described me as being ‘of advanced age’? Those jerks! I’m only 45!” 

“And yet you act like you’re only 4 or 5,” Axel muttered. 

A spray of bullets whizzed past Axel’s ear, and he tossed a firework back in retaliation. He heard some yelling, meaning that the firework successfully deterred their pursuers, at least for a moment. He turned around and pelted after Demyx into a large room. There was just a hint of light near the other end, meaning they were nearing the exit. And in that light were two silhouettes. 

Axel just had time to recognize the two silhouettes as the twins and not shoot before he saw them raising the handguns they’d been given. He couldn’t admire the unison of it though, seeing as how he was in front of them. 

“Don’t shoot, it’s us!” He yelled. 

The twins shot. 

The bullets passed in between Axel and Demyx. Axel turned around just in time to see two pursuers with uzis fall. 

“Sorry, but I figured you probably wanted us to shoot,” Vanitas said cheerfully. Next to him, Sora’s knees were shaking and his eyes were wide, but his arms were steady. 

“Sora, how come you never shoot like that on the range?” Demyx asked. 

“Incoming,” came a high pitched voice. At first Axel though Sora might have brought his girlfriend Kairi along, but that was ridiculous. Then he realized it was just Sora. 

Sora and Vanitas shot another three pursuers before Saix came charging around the corner and took out the rest. 

“Let’s go!” Axel yelled. Demyx didn’t hesitate, and sprinted ahead, hitching his kimono up a bit to make the running easier. The twins backpedalled, giving cover fire as Axel raced over to Saix and dragged on his arm, pulling him after. Saix was bleeding from various bullet wounds, and was starting to come out of his berserk state. That wasn’t good. Last night had been the full moon. Saix seemed to go berserk more easily and last longer when there was a full moon. Was age catching up to him? To all of them? 

They managed to reach the car without incident. Demyx was already at the wheel, revving the engine. 

“I was supposed to drive,” Vanitas said as he slid into the front seat, sulking. 

“Well look at it this way, now you can provide cover fire,” Sora warbled. Vanitas grinned and twisted around to put a hand on his twin’s shoulder. 

“Come on, Sor. You’re doing great. We’ll be outta here soon.” 

Sora nodded but kept his eyes on the tunnel entrance as Axel helped a very dazed Saix into the car. 

“Is he always like that after going berserk?” Vanitas asked as Demyx peeled out, a trace of concern creeping into his voice. The twins had only seen Saix berserk once before, and had been hustled off to a safe distance and did not see him again until well after it was over. 

“Oh yeah, he’ll be fine,” Axel said, but his voice was tight with worry. Saix would be fine, but Axel always worried when he went berserk. What if Saix got killed, or stayed berserk and forgot all about him, or hurt their friends and the twins? 

“Axel?” Saix asked, and Axel leaned over him. Saix pulled Axel’s head down and kissed him, and the twins averted their eyes because it didn’t feel right to watch such a personal moment between their parents. 

“Ew, get a room,” Demyx said, having seen through the rear-view mirror. 

“Drop dead,” Saix breathed, before his eyes rolled back and fluttered shut. 

“I think you’re the one more likely to,” Demyx replied. 

“Sora can I have that gun to shoot Demyx?” Axel asked. 

“Not while he’s driving!” Sora all but shrieked. 

“It’s cool, I bet I can get behind the wheel before we crash,” Vanitas offered. 

“Alright, I’m sorry,” Demyx sighed. 

After a few blocks it became clear they were not being pursued. The boys surrendered their borrowed guns, and lowered themselves into their seats. Fireworks were cancelled for the evening, partly because Saix needed to be tended by Vexen, and because they couldn’t guarantee the Wargoyles wouldn’t be out for revenge, and partly because Axel had used up a good portion of their supply, leaving them with only sparklers and a few parachutes. 

* * *

“Admit it, you enjoyed it,” Vanitas told Sora. They were curled up together on Sora’s bed. Vanitas liked moments like this, because as much as he tried to deny all things he deemed childish, he still enjoyed them. If anyone asked, he would have claimed he was comforting Sora after a trying day, but really, he just liked being with his twin like this. 

“I didn’t. It wasn’t as scary as I thought, but I didn’t like it even so,” Sora replied sleepily. It wasn’t often that Vanitas wanted to spend the night in his room or let him spend the night in Vanitas’s room, but it was nice knowing that Vanitas still cared. Some days it felt like his twin was leaving him behind. Their differences only seemed to become more apparent as they grew older, and it scared him a little. Which was why he still clung to those “childish” things like their parents’ nicknames. But at times like this, he knew that at least they would always be them, even after they went their separate ways. 

“Yeah, I totally thought you were going to wet yourself.” 

“Are you sure you weren’t the one who was gonna wet yourself? You used to do that all the time, remember?” 

“Oh, whatever.” 

“Maybe I would have. Who knows?” 

“Do you think we’ll get to keep helping out like that?” 

“You can. I’ll pass.” 

“Come on, Sora. Where would I be without my super dorky twin backing me up?” Vanitas asked, tickling Sora’s stomach a bit. 

“Stop that. You’d be fine. You’re the invincible Vanitas. You don’t need me weighing you down.” 

“Well, obviously. But it’s more fun if you’re there. Plus you failing in comparison will make me look better.” 

The only response Vanitas got was a slow breath. Sora had fallen asleep. It was one of the amazing things about his brother, that he could fall asleep so easily. Vanitas had a harder time unwinding enough to let sleep come, and also he did get nightmares sometimes, about not having any of this. Nightmares where he was alone, completely alone. No Sora, no parents, none of those friends that were really Sora’s but seemed to like him okay as well, no cousins, no Uncle Eraqus, no Riku. Or the dreams where he was alone except for one shadowy presence that reminded him of grandpa Xehanort. Or the dreams where everyone was there, but they wouldn’t talk to him, or look at him, and when he finally made them face him, they looked back with either hatred, or worse: empty, lifeless eyes. Vanitas had plenty of bad dreams. 

Still, with Sora at his side, he wouldn’t have bad dreams tonight. 

* * *

Axel was gripping the table with all his strength to keep from strangling Xemnas. The whole thing had been a set-up to test out the twins? 

Well, not quite. Demyx’s attempted negotiations with the Wargoyle’s had been real enough, but Xemnas had expected them to fail from the start. And he’d sent everyone on meaningless missions so that they’d be far away when help was needed. 

As Axel looked around the table, he could tell some of the others were unhappy as well. No, not most of the others. All of them. Even Xigbar was upset, as evident by the whiteness around his lips as he pressed them together with all his might to keep from saying anything against the boss. Xigbar disagreed with the boss from time to time, but he generally kept his protests quiet in front of the others so the boss could save face by not arguing with his right hand man. 

“You must admit, it was the perfect set-up. With Saix taking the vanguard, the risk to the boys was minimal,” Xemnas said. 

“You let Saix get hospitalized. Just so you could test the twins,” Axel spat. 

“I must say I agree,” Vexen said, surprising everyone. “That berserk mode is not good for his health. And besides, with all the injuries that man acquires when berserk, I think by now I’ve probably used enough sutures on him to create an entirely new body for him.” 

“That doesn’t even make sense,” Zexion sneered. “But don’t you think you should have at least given the boys a choice?” 

“Sora would never agree to such a thing,” Xemnas replied calmly. 

“Maybe because Sora doesn’t belong in a fight in the first place!” Xaldin snapped. 

Everyone went silent. Xaldin was another one who rarely argued with Xemnas. It was why he was considered one of Xemnas’s favorites, along with Lexaeus, Xigbar, and Saix. They always stood behind the boss. Except not today. 

“I don’t think the twins should be joining the gang,” Lexaeus rumbled. Around the meeting table, everyone began nodding. 

“Oh really? And why not? Isn’t that what we’ve been raising them for? Isn’t that why we took them in?” 

“I thought we took them in because they were cute,” Demyx said. 

“Regardless of why we took them in, I think choice is important. Imagine the pressure of being expected to do things you’d rather not,” Marluxia said, as if he were all too aware of the feeling he was discussing. Once again, the members of the Yakuza 13 upper echelons wondered what exactly was in Marluxia’s past. He never did tell them anything. 

“They’re not suited for it. Vanitas may seem like it, but I think it would slowly destroy him,” Roxas said. And if he thought so, he was probably right, seeing as how he was the one with a degree in psychology. 

“Xigbar?” Xemnas said. Xigbar sighed. He couldn’t avoid it now. 

“I don’t like it either,” he said bluntly. “The twins deserve better than this. And besides, how did we raise them for this? We raised them to be able to look after themselves, yes. But if we really wanted them to join, why did we spend years trying to limit their affiliation with us? If we wanted them to join, we should have made them inseparable from us, let everyone know whose kids they were. But we didn’t. We tried to keep their anonymity. I think they should get to choose their own paths.” 

Xemnas was stunned by Xigbar’s disagreement. And if he were to search deep inside for his emotions, he would find himself to be a little hurt. But Xemnas’s emotions had long been buried deep within his heart, all but out of his reach. 

“Alright. No more ride alongs then,” Xemnas said. “Not unless they truly are necessary, at least.” 

And so it was. Had Saix attended the meeting, he might have quoted his parenting guides about letting children make their own decisions about how they lived. But Saix wasn’t there. Still, the parents had learned a few things over the last seventeen years, and didn’t need the parenting guides so much anymore. They could figure things out for themselves. Their love for their boys could help them be good parents, far more than any books could.


	15. Terrella: Age - 18

Terra stared out the window of the airplane and out over the dark clouds. He had looked down at the ocean rolling out beneath him once and resolved never again. The only reason he kept looking at the window was because a small part of him was terrified that if he wasn’t watching the plane would crash. They were expected to have turbulence for a while and the seat belt light was on and Terra felt like everything could go wrong at any moment. Terra wished his professor wasn’t sitting so far away, maybe she would be able to distract him. 

The plane hit a bit of turbulence and Terra felt like his stomach dropped out from under him. At the same time the woman next to him let out a nervous gasp and concern made him tear his gaze from the window to look at her. When she had first gotten on board Terra couldn’t help but notice how pretty he was, but he was too anxious to introduce himself and they had only exchanged polite nods. Now she looked clammy with sweat, her hands holding tightly to the armrests when they weren’t tugging at her long blonde hair. 

“Are you alright?” Terra couldn’t help but ask. 

The lady twitched in surprise and stared at Terra with wide eyes. Feeling guilty for startling her, Terra mumbled, “Sorry.” 

The woman gave a small shakey smile. “N-no. It’s alright. And I’m fine. I’m, I’m just a nervous flier.” 

Terra nodded, desperately ignoring the urge to look out the window and make sure they were still in the air. “I get that. This is my first time flying and I’m terrified.” 

The plane shook as they hit another bout of turbulence and both he and the lady flinched. Once it was over the woman smiled wanly. “Where are you headed?” 

Terra had glanced out the window during the turbulence and had to turn back to answer. When he looked at her though, Terra felt his breath catch at how startling blue her eyes were, so it took him a moment to choke out, “Castrum Somnium.” 

The lady’s smile turned genuine as she said excitedly, “Me too! What’s your name?” 

Terra couldn’t help but return the smile, “My name’s Terra. And yours?” 

“Call me Ella.” Ella replied. They both leaned forward and reached out to shake hands, but at that moment the plane shook again and they ended up conking foreheads. When they pulled back they both stared each other wide-eyed with hands against their forehead and blurted out at the same time, 

“I’m sorry!” 

“Apologies!” 

They stared at each other for a moment more before they both burst into laughter. Once they had calmed down Terra asked, “So what do you usually do to try and stay calm?” 

A faint blush rose to Ella’s cheeks before she answered, “It’s a little embarrassing so I only do it if I’m really nervous, but I like to hold onto my favorite stuffed animal.” 

Terra tilted his head. “Do you have it with you now?” 

Ella hesitated a moment before nodding her head. 

“Do you happen to have two stuffed animals? Because I wouldn’t mind trying it.” Terra said with a smile. 

Ella beamed. “You know what, I do. Hold on a moment.” 

Unbuckling her seat belt, Ella carefully stood up so she could access the luggage compartment above their heads. She pulled out her carry-on and sat back down quickly, immediately redoing her seat belt. Then she pulled out two averaged sized brown bears. One of them was wearing a pair of green corduroy overalls with a tiny brown plaid hat. The other wore a light blue dress and sunhat. They both had fur that looked worn from love. 

Holding them both up Ella said, “Meet Mr. and Mrs. Muffins. They run a tulip farm together. Which one would you like?” 

Terra stared at them critically before taking Mr. Muffins and cradling him in his arms. 

Ella smiled and her stare lingered on Mr. Muffins as she said. “Good choice.” 

Holding Mr. Muffins, Terra could understand why Ella found it soothing. It was nice to have something soft to hold, that he could squeeze a little tighter whenever he got nervous. 

“Thank you. This does help a lot.” 

Ella hugged Mrs. Muffins as she said happily. “I’m glad he could help.” 

There was more turbulence and both Terra and Ella gasped nervously and clutched harder to the teddy bears they were holding. When it was over Terra glanced out the window before looking back at Ella. She had her head buried in her bear but when she felt Terra’s gaze she peeked out then straightened up. “Sorry.” She apologized. 

Terra shook his head. “No need to be sorry.” Though Terra did feel a bit bad, Ella was being so kind trying to help Terra with his fear and he wasn’t doing much in return. Maybe he could try distracting her from her worries? She did seem more relaxed when they were talking, so he would try that. “So why are you headed to Castrum Somnium?” 

Ella looked at Terra in surprise, then her eyes flickered away as she answered. “I live there. I attend college in the United States, but head home for the summer.” Her bright blue eyes then returned to Terra. “What about you?” 

“I’m actually on a trip with my professor. She has a research site within Castrum Somnium. We’re going to be studying its glaciers.” 

“Brrr.” Ella shivered. “That sounds like too cold of an activity for summer.” 

“A little, but I’m really looking forward to it.” 

They fell silent for a moment, and Terra struggled for something else to say, something else to focus on other than the faint dread. “What college do you go to?” 

The university Ella listed off had Terra brightening, “I go to the sister college of that university! What’s your major?” 

Ella smiled in surprise as she answered. “Political Science, with a minor in Creative Writing.” 

It was pretty easy to make conversation after that. The sister Universities they went to often had cross campus classes so they could talk about the weird things they’ve seen, or how unreasonable some of the elective professors were, and from there they found connected common interests. They continued to chat happily, doing a good job of distracting themselves, until they were too tired to continue and curled up to sleep as best they could on the plane. 

When they were woken up for breakfast the next morning there was less chatter, as they were both sleepy, but there was an air of friendship. They continued off and on chatter as the plane landed and they disembarked. Once they exited the plane and were in the main airport, Terra stopped and said sadly. 

“I guess this is where we part. I need to wait for my professor.” 

Ella gave a mysterious smile and leaned in close as she held out a piece of paper. “Perhaps we can meet again? While I don’t know much about geology, I can give you a tour of the capital if you want.” 

Terra took the piece a paper with a confused smile. “That sounds nice.” 

“Then see you around Terra,” Ella said with a wink and sashayed off. 

Terra could only gape after her, wondering what had just happened, before finally coming to his senses enough to unfold the piece of paper Ella had given him. On it was Ella’s name and phone number. 

A gigantic grin plastered itself on Terra’s face as he quietly whispered “Yessssss.” 

* * *

It took three days before Terra could call the phone number Ella gave him. The first day he and his professor had spent unpacking and setting things up for their stay. The second they had headed out for the field site right away in the morning and by the time they got back Terra was exhausted and just wanted to collapse in bed and read until it was time to sleep. The third day was a free day, where Terra could spend time actually getting acquainted with the city they would be staying in for several months. Since Castrum Somnium was a small country they were staying in the capital as it had more resources readily available if they should need it. 

Terra paced in the small bedroom that was his while in Castrum Somnium, taking five steps to the window, then turning around and taking five steps toward the bed. He mumbled quietly to himself, trying to psych himself up, once he felt confident enough he stopped and quickly mashed the call button on his phone he had gotten specifically for this trip and brought it up to his ear. 

As the sound of ringing filled his ear, Terra nervously jiggled his foot. He could’ve been standing there for a second, he could have been standing there for an hour. He didn’t know. 

Finally, thankfully, the ringing ended and a breathless, beautiful voiced answered, “Hello?” 

“Hi Ella, this is Terra. From the plane? I have some free time today so should we meet? I mean, only if you want to, or if you even have time! It’s cool if you don’t.” Was he rambling? Terra felt like he was rambling. 

“Yes!” Ella said excitedly, “I mean, yes I want to meet. But I have to clear a few things first, give me an hour or so and I’ll text you alright?” 

Terra nodded his head frantically before remembering Ella couldn’t seem him. “That’s fine.” 

Ella’s voice sounded relieved as she said, “Good, I’ll get in contact with you then, but I have to go right now! Bye!” 

Terra barely managed to choke out a, “Bye,” before the dial tone played in his ears. 

As Terra lowered his phone in a nervous too-tight grip, he stared at it. All he had to do now was wait. 

And wait. 

And wait. 

Terra tried to distract himself, but it wasn’t working. 

Terra’s phone dinged and it was almost embarrassing how fast he lunged for it, but when he checked it was a message from his professor updating him on plans for tomorrow. 

With a sigh Terra quickly typed back a response and set his phone back down. After a moment it dinged again and Terra barely looked at his phone as he opened it, expecting a reply from his professor. But Terra’s eyes grew wide in shock when he realized it was from Ella. 

_Meet me at the Nightingale Cafe at 11:30?_

Terra could not contain his joy, grinning like a fool as he typed 

_I’ll be there_

Now all he had to do was figure where Nightingale Cafe was and what to wear. 

* * *

Terra checked his phone as he speedwalked down the cobblestone street to the cafe; it was 11:28. He would arrive just barely on time thanks to the fact he couldn’t decide what to wear. Why hadn’t he thought to bring any clothes good for a date with him? Not that it mattered now. 

Skidding to a stop in front of the cafe’s low iron fence that kept pedestrians from wandering into the tables, Terra took a quick look at the people sitting outside, searching for Ella. He easily found her, because she stood up from one of the tables as soon as she saw him. 

They made their way towards each other and when they reached each other Ella smiled brightly. 

“You made it!” 

Unable to resist Ella’s happy glow- not that he would if he could- Terra smiled too, “Of course I would.” 

Ella linked her arm with Terra’s and started pulling him towards the cafe’s door. “Then let’s go in! I hear they have the best pastries in Europe.” 

Terra flushed a little at Ella’s touch and she barely had to tug to have Terra following her like a love-sick puppy. “Okay.” 

The two of them had lunch at the cafe, sitting outside and chatting. It was hard to believe they still had things to say after talking so much on the plane, but they did. And Terra could simply sit and watch Ella talking about anything, the way her slim hands moved as she talked, and the way the sun shined on her blonde hair, everything about her seemed magical. 

After lunch Ella guided Terra through the city as they moved to their next destination. They were in an older part of the town and a lot of the buildings and streets had history to them Ella explained. And while Terra tried to pay attention, something started to nag at him, like something was wrong. 

After a while Terra realized that the feeling had started when he showed up at the cafe and had simply persisted until now, growing stronger. It took a few casual looks around until Terra finally figured out what was going on: they were being watched. Apparently his family’s yearly safety lessons with the Yakuza 13 were paying off. 

Nonchalantly grabbing Ella’s hand to pull her closer, Terra leaned down so he could whisper into her ear, hoping that the action seemed romantic. “Don’t be alarmed, but I think we’re being followed.” 

The expression on Ella’s face dropped and she stood completely still, Terra had to tug on her hand to get her to move again so they wouldn’t be suspicious. 

Once they were moving again Ella whispered back. “What do they look like?” 

Terra was surprised how calm Ella was about this, it’s not like people were followed often. But he was also being pretty calm and he had never been followed before, so maybe it made sense? 

“One is a tall skinny man, the other is average height and portly, both have a noticeable tan.” 

Ella looked down at her feet and Terra barely saw the small frown on her face as she said, “Those are my bodyguards.” 

“What.” This time it was Terra’s turn to stop walking and Ella did too. As they turned to face each other, the crowd continued to move around them, though the bodyguards stayed back. 

“Your bodyguards?” Terra asked, his voice going high. All sorts of scenarios went through Terra’s head, that Ella was under witness protection from a gang, that she was some important figure in a mob, that maybe she was even some mob bosses daughter. Spending time with the Yakuza 13 made him think the worst. 

“Yes.” Ella said, nodding without looking at Terra. “I didn’t want to tell you because it tends to overwhelm people, but I’m the princess Cinderella of Castrum Somnium.” 

“A princess?” Terra asked, feeling like a burden had been lifted off his shoulders, “That’s a relief.” 

Ella looked up at Terra, confusion clearly written across her face. “A relief?” 

Terra felt an embarrassed smile creep onto his face, “Let’s just say I imagined a lot of worse scenarios for why you needed bodyguards and move on.” 

Ella still seemed confused, but nodded. “So you don’t mind that I’m a princess?” 

“I don’t mind if you don’t mind.” Terra said with a shrug. 

The smile that Ella gave him was so bright, Terra swore it could outshine the sun. “Then if you don’t mind, let’s continue our date. Though my bodyguards will still have to follow us.” 

Terra gave a small joking bow, moving his hand in front of him, “Then lead on, princess.” 

With a giggle, Ella gently swatted at him and began to move again. “Stop that.” 

They continued on towards their destination and Terra debated telling Cinderella about his connection to the Yakuza 13. After all, that seemed important if he was going to be dating royalty. But Terra dismissed that thought, one revelation per date was enough. Instead he said, with a teasing smile, 

“So, Cinderella eh? Did you start a lot of fires as a kid?” 

“Not as such.” Cinderella laughed and Terra thought it sounded like musical windchimes. 

Honestly, Terra thought he might be in love already.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still enjoying the series? If so, good news. We finally got everything written that we wanted to, so updates are gonna increase and you will get the rest of the chapters that much quicker. Hooray!


	16. Life in a Box: Age - 19

In movies, it is always a bright sunny day when something new begins. Except horror movies. But Sora was pretty sure his life was no horror movie. His parents weren’t _that_ bad. And yet here he was, moving into his dorm room on a miserable rainy day. As he and Axel wrestled a plastic storage bin into the cart, he could see Saix and Vanitas getting soaked on the other side of the parking lot. 

“I still don’t see why the two of you couldn’t just share a room,” Axel grumbled. 

“Like Van said, we haven’t shared a room in years and that’s been A-okay with him. Plus he needs to learn how to get along with other people. And I want to meet someone new,” Sora replied, grunting a bit as he hauled the full cart towards the dorm doors. He and Axel got there at the same time as Saix and Vanitas, and the four of them got in the elevator together, dripping on the floor as they crowded in. 

“Nothing like a little rain to bring out my natural sexiness,” Vanitas joked. “Quick take a pic so I can send it to Riku and make him crazy over the fact that he opted to live off campus.” 

“You shouldn’t tease him like that,” Sora scolded, but held out his hand for Vanitas’s phone. As he held it up, Vanitas struck a pose of himself slicking back his hair, looking at the camera with his eyebrows raised. Sora tried not to blush at how embarrassing his brother was, since Vanitas would undoubtedly crack a joke about Sora having a crush on him as well. 

Sora handed back the phone just as the elevator drew to a stop and the doors opened to Sora’s floor. Before they could get out they had to fend off some people headed down who didn’t understand the elevators were for public use and not just for them. Saix had to stop the doors from closing as Sora and Axel tried to maneuver past the people who stubbornly stayed right by the elevator doors, but eventually they were out and making their way down the hall. 

“So what’s your roommate like?” Axel asked, trying to make small talk. 

“I don’t know. They didn’t send out any roommate information.” 

“I see. Never did the college thing myself, but that seems a little unusual. Hey Sor, I think this is you,” Axel said, rapping his knuckles lightly on a door decorated with animated characters that had names next to them. One said Sora, and the other had his new roommate’s name on it: Neku. Sora checked the room number on the packet his keys were in, and it matched. He unlocked the door and got his first look at his new home for the coming year. 

It was… empty. Very empty. There were two beds: his was the one which was lofted so he could put things under it- a decision which he was currently glad to have made because there wasn’t much space. As well as the beds, there were also desks and chairs and two closets and dressers. Everything was blank and bland. It was a bit bleak at the moment, but Sora was sure that, on a sunny day when he and Neku were nicely settled in and had added some color to the room, it would be nice. 

“Yeesh. If this is what dorms are like, then I sure am glad that I never tried the whole college thing,” Axel said, his lip curling as he looked at the room. 

“Pappy, it’s not that bad,” Sora said. 

“Not everyone has your sunny disposition, kiddo. C’mon. Let’s unload this stuff and go get the next load. And I’ll see if I can turn on the heater to help things dry.” 

“Don’t light anything on fire. I’ll get kicked out if you do.” 

“I am perfectly capable of managing a thermostat without kindling any fires, thank you,” Axel said, ruffling Sora’s hair as he passed and making it even messier than usual. 

After three more trips, they had everything, and so they waited in the lobby for Saix and Vanitas to finish up so they could all go out and get lunch together before saying goodbye. They had to wait a while, and when Vanitas and Saix finally joined them Vanitas was grumpy because his RA had come to introduce herself and had talked for ten minutes straight. To make things worse, she’d seemed more interested in Saix than Vanitas, which Vanitas found offensive as much as humiliating. 

Saix and Axel ended up leaving as soon as they got their food, as Saix was starting to tear up and the parents had promised not to cry when their boys went off to school. It was one of the reasons that only today’s parenting pair had come, along with the fact that they were having a slight standoff with some gang or other and couldn’t afford to have too many leaders dropping off the boys. Sora and Vanitas ate in silence, their sudden freedom feeling a lot more somber than they would have expected. 

“Did you meet your new roommate?” Sora finally asked. 

“Nope. You?” 

“Not yet. But from the door decorations I think his name is Neku.” 

“The R-A-T said she hadn’t gotten around to door decorations yet but she’ll have them up by the time classes start.” 

“Isn’t that not until next week?” Sora asked, frowning. 

“That’s what I said!" Vanitas exclaimed, brandishing his fork with gusto. "But she was too busy giving our dad the goo-goo eyes to bother answering me. She’s super creepy. I want to move floors. Maybe if your roommate sucks, I can move in with you.” 

“You’re the one who wanted separate rooms.” 

“Well I changed my mind. Besides, I wanted separate rooms when I thought I could convince Riku to be my roommate,” Vanitas admitted sullenly. 

“It’ll be good for you, Van,” Sora assured his twin. 

“No it won’t.” 

The boys finished their lunches and headed back to the dorm. They took the stairs since there were still people moving in, and Sora used the journey to remind Vanitas to behave himself. 

“Be nice to your RA. You don’t have to be friends with her, but don’t be her enemy. And don’t flirt with your roommate. He might be some homophobic jock who breaks your jaw if you do, and you know our parents would have a field day if that happened. And don’t creep on anyone in the bathroom. I may be used to it, but guys here might report you. And try and get out some outside of classes. And try to make friends too. I know it’s harder for you, but you get really gloomy if you don’t talk to people for a while. And make sure your roommate is okay with you having a boyfriend BEFORE you bring Riku over.” 

“Yes, mom.” Vanitas rolled his eyes. 

“And please don’t shut me out just ‘cause we’re in college now,” Sora said softly, stopping a few steps short of the door to his floor’s landing. “No matter how many friends I make, I’ll still be lonely without you.” 

“Heh, no worries,” Vanitas said, edging up the stairs between him and Sora so he could stand beside his brother and put an arm around his shoulders. “I’m sure I can find time to fit you into my busy schedule, oh… once a year or so.” 

“Vanitas!” 

“I’m kidding. Let’s see how classes are before we set anything in stone, but it’d be good to have at least one meal a day together.” 

“Now you’re talking. You better pinky promise, right now, or else I’m telling Xemnas it was you who kept leaving pine cones in random places this past week.” 

“You would not,” Vanitas said, but held out his little finger for the promise anyways. 

“Later Van,” Sora said, after they’d wrapped their pinkies around each other and squeezed for good measure. 

“See ya.” 

It took Sora a moment to get his bearings coming from the stairs rather than the elevator, and he actually walked past his room and had to backtrack. He was just turning the key in the lock and not feeling it click when he heard the voices from inside. Either he’d forgotten to lock the door and people were already taking advantage of it, or his new roommate had arrived. 

Sora threw the door open in excitement. He’d never admit it, but he didn’t loathe fights nearly as much as he pretended to, so taking on would-be burglars thrilled him. He mostly just dragged his feet about fighting because he knew that without him keeping the peace through whatever means necessary, Vanitas would pick fights with almost everyone, and it would cause several of their parents to have nervous breakdowns. And the prospect of meeting his new roommate was even better than a potential fight. They were gonna be best buds and stay up late talking and watching movies and studying together and it would be so much fun! 

There were three people in the room- two guys and a girl- who were struggling with a mini-fridge. As soon as Sora threw the door open, the girl jumped back. One of the guys, seeing this, casually stepped away from the fridge leaving the second guy to struggle with it for a moment before giving up and turning to scowl at Sora. 

“Hi, you must be Sora,” said the guy who had stepped away. “I’m Joshua, this is Shiki, and the grumpy guy is your new roommate, Neku.” 

“Yup, I’m Sora. Nice to meet you!” Sora exclaimed, grabbing Joshua’s hand and shaking it. Joshua looked startled for a moment, but then he smiled and shook Sora’s hand in return. 

“I hope you don’t mind us coming to help out,” Shiki said. 

“No problem. I like meeting new people.” 

“The total opposite of Neku, then,” Joshua said. Behind him, Neku was still scowling, and was now rummaging through a suitcase. He pulled out a pair of headphones. 

“Uh-oh. Joshua, Sora, he’s going for the headphones. We’re in for it now!” Shiki said, laughing. It was clearly some joke between them. 

“I don’t need any help. Get out already.” Neku muttered to Shiki and Joshua. 

“What’s this? Turning down free labor just for the sake of your pride? Neku, I’m so disappointed in you,” Joshua said, shaking his head. Neku hmphed and went to put clothes in his dresser. 

“Sorry about Neku. He’s just not big on new people,” Shiki said. 

“Or any people really,” Joshua said. 

“Oh, that’s just like my brother. He’s on the next floor up I think. Or the one above that. He says he has to dislike people, since I like people too much, but I say I have to like people since he hates them so much.” 

“Sounds troublesome,” Joshua remarked. 

“Well we’ve been together all our lives so I’m used to it. Hey, you want some popcorn? I think I saw a microwave down the hall, and I’m pretty sure I packed some.” 

“Do that and I’ll even help you unpack,” Joshua said. 

“Sweet!” 

Sora managed to locate the popcorn and the microwave and soon they had a bag of popcorn to eat while they unpacked. At first Neku refused to take any, but when Shiki tossed a kernel his way he caught it in his mouth. Sora, who had spent many years attempting to hone such a skill to no avail, was very impressed and before long he and Shiki and Joshua were tossing so many kernels at Neku he finally snapped at them to cut it out. 

Sora was just hanging up one of his jackets when he noticed a swath of cloth covered in pins. 

“Woah, there’s so many,” he said, coming up behind Neku to admire it. Neku stiffened. 

“He collects them,” Shiki said, joining them. 

“Really? Wow. That’s pretty cool. I like all the different designs on them. Hey, maybe I should get you a pin as a moving-in gift! Though just one seems kinda lame. Do they make sets or something?” 

“Seriously? You think you can find one I don’t already have THAT easily?” Neku asked. 

“Oh Neku, don’t be mean. He’s trying to be nice,” Shiki chided. 

“Alright, that’s it. Neku, you seriously do not appreciate your roommate enough. He shares popcorn, he thinks your loser-hobby is cool, and he’s offering to get you a moving-in gift? If you’re gonna be so grumpy with him then I’ll just be his roommate instead,” Joshua said. 

“You’ll have to get in line. My brother told me earlier he regrets opting to have different rooms, so I’m pretty sure he has first dibs. And also my parents would probably fight you to be my roommate as well.” 

“Overbearing parents, huh?” Joshua asked. 

“Overbearing sure, but mostly just weird. And… nah, let’s just leave it at weird.” 

“Oho, sounds like there’s some great mystery there," Joshua said, raising an eyebrow and raising a hand to stroke his chin. "And I intend to find out what it is.” 

“Oo, oo! Me too! Me too!” Shiki said. 

“Guys, if he doesn’t want to talk about it then leave him be,” Neku growled. 

“Aw, is your new buddy growing on you already?” Joshua asked. 

“Shut up.” 

Just then Shiki squealed. The boys all turned to look at her in alarm, but she was pointing at a stuffed animal that was poking its head out of one of Sora’s storage bins. He’d been embarrassed to take it with him, but at the same time he just couldn’t leave behind Truffles, the pig Lexaeus had made for him when he was three. He’d never really played with Truffles much, and so Truffles had mostly sat on his shelf, but he’d gotten so used to Truffles sitting there that he didn’t think his dorm would feel like home without Truffles there. 

“Oh my god, it’s so cute!” Shiki exclaimed. 

“Ah, that’s, uh, my dad made it,” Sora said, blushing a bit. 

“Really? It looks professional!” 

“Yeah, Lex- uh, my dad, he’s really into sewing and knitting and things. If you want I could have him make one for you.” 

“Really? Ohmigawd! Can he do a cat? I made one once, and named him Mr. Mew, but I’m really better at making clothes than stuffed animals.” 

“I thought Mr. Mew was cute,” Joshua said. “And so did Neku. I’m pretty sure if you gave him Mr. Mew, he’d love and cherish him forever.” 

“Do you like cats, then?” Sora asked Shiki. 

“I love cats! It’s why I’m dating Neku.” Shiki winked. “So could your dad make me a cat please? Or teach me?” 

Sora tried not to cringe at the idea of Shiki getting lessons in making stuffed animals from Lexaeus. Sure, Lexaeus would love to have a pupil, but his size still intimidated people and he was recognizable enough that she might catch on to who he was, and then it was only a matter of time until she found out about Sora’s family set-up, and then would come the meltdown. Sora was not about that life. 

“Yeah, he can make you a cat. As a matter of fact, he made one for my mom once. He said it was her. She got mad and threw it under the bed so my brother and I had to go get it out.” There. Perfect. He’d just established Lexaeus and Larxene as his parents. He’d pretend here at college to have a normal nuclear family, and everything would be fine, and no one would have to find out that he was the son of a bunch of gangsters and freak out as a result ever. He hoped his parents wouldn’t be too hurt by him doing this. It could just be so tiring owning up to being their son. 

“Okay, Neku, I’m with Joshua. Your roommate is awesome, and you better get along with him.” 

They all spent the afternoon unpacking, then headed down to the dining hall for dinner. Sora was worried about letting guests into the dining hall, but then Joshua told him that he actually lived in one of the other dorms and had moved in yesterday, and while Shiki was commuting from home she had gotten a meal plan so she could get lunch at school, so she would also be able to get in without a problem. 

Once inside the dining hall, Sora spotted Vanitas over by a counter offering pizza. 

“Van!” he called, and waded through the throng of dinner-goers to join his brother. 

“What, miss me already?” Vanitas teased. 

“You know it,” Sora replied. “So how’s things so far?” 

“Boring. My roommate’s still a no-show. The RA said he should be moving in tomorrow, and yes, I was nice to her, so don’t worry.” 

“Well if you’ve got nothing better to do, I was gonna eat with my roommate and his friends who were helping him unpack. You could join us.” 

“I waaaas looking forward to testing out the wifi to see if I can watch reruns of King of Games, but I suppose I can put off the excitement of card duels for the sake of my poor, unfortunate, not-as-hot-or-awesome little brother.” 

“Wow, choosing to look at me instead of your crush the Emperor, that must be tough. I understand what a great sacrifice you’re making, Van.” 

Sora and Vanitas finished filling their plates and headed out to the tables. At first they were overwhelmed by how full the dining hall was, but then Sora noticed Joshua waving from a table over on the side and they headed over. Sora and Vanitas arrived right at the same time as Shiki and Neku. 

“So, Sora, I was wondering…” Shiki began, then squeaked. “Eep! There’s two of you!” 

“Shiki, relax. They’re just twins,” Neku grumbled. 

Introductions went around, and before long it had been discovered that they all played Underclock, and soon they were discussing their favorite characters to play and planning on teaming up sometime, and even made plans to get together for a few one on one battles the next day. But eventually they had to leave the dining hall and return to their rooms, and Shiki had to drive home- though Sora had offered to see if Kairi would let Shiki stay in her room, Shiki turned the offer down- and then it was just him and Neku and Vanitas in the elevator, and then they were going to their rooms and getting ready for bed. 

It was only when Sora was about to turn out the lights that Neku finally said “Hey Sora? As long as you don’t snore or sleepwalk or anything like that, I think I might be okay with you.” 

After years of being twins with Vanitas, Sora had a built-in translator for when people were skirting around saying that they liked someone. 

“Nope, no snoring or sleepwalking. I did throw the pillow sometimes as a kid, but Vanitas used to beat me awake with it if I hit him so I stopped.” 

“Right. Night Sora.” 

“Good night, Neku.” Sora turned the lights out, because in the dark Neku wouldn’t see him smile. 

* * *

The next day, Vanitas was feeling rather cheerful as he came back from his brother’s room. He’d done pretty well, kicking Sora’s butt, as usual, and faring well against Neku and Shiki, though he had lost every round with Joshua. Which was weird since the others all beat Joshua as much as they lost to him. Still, it’d been fun. 

When he unlocked his door, he wondered if the fact that meant it was still locked meant that his roommate still had yet to arrive. But no, there was a person in there after all. 

“You have got to be kidding me,” Vanitas groaned. 

“Huh? Vanitas? What are you- oh no. Oh no no no. This has got to be one of your pranks. You CANNOT be my roommate,” the other person breathed. 

“Oh hey guys, I just finished the door decorations, here’s yours. What do you think?” The RA asked. Sure enough, one said Vanitas, and the other said Ventus. 

“I really should have just roomed with Sora,” Vanitas complained. 

“This is gonna be a long year,” Ventus agreed.


	17. Travis and David: Age - 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warning:** This chapter deals with biological parents, an issue which may be sensitive to some. Please read carefully.

Vanitas yawned, remembering not to stretch because then he would hit the girl sitting next to him. He wasn’t a big fan of lectures, and their guest speaker wasn’t of much interest to him. She was droning on and on about the inspirations for her pieces, mostly modern artists. But Vanitas didn’t see much connection between her work and the works he’d seen by the artists she’d mentioned. Besides, why did he care where someone else got their inspiration? Art wasn’t some formulaic thing, where if someone told you what muse they believed in, that same muse would be of use to you. He didn’t have enough trouble with inspiration to seek out the suggestions of others. 

Vanitas continued the doodle that had been spreading across his notebook page, because the pencil in his hand and the designs on the paper were of more interest to him than counting the seconds ticking by. He let himself focus on the drawing, tuning out the discussion for the most part. As soon as this was over, he was meeting Sora for lunch. Riku and Kairi and Ven would probably be there as well, and maybe a few of their other tolerable friends. Though Sora had promised to not to bring too many people at least. Of course, Sora’s definition of “too many people” involved a lot more people than Vanitas’s. 

Vanitas had filled in the entire page. He briefly contemplated turning the notebook over and starting on the other side, but then it would smear and also there were only about ten minutes left. He could bear with it until then. 

They were now in the midst of a Q&A session. He had to keep from gagging, because people always asked such annoying questions. Like right now, someone was asking about the prominence of the colors yellow and blue in a number of the artist’s paintings. Vanitas looked up at the paintings in question and there was indeed a lot of blue and yellow. Which might not have bothered him, if it weren’t for the artist’s answer. 

“Well, that’s not really a story I like to tell,” she said. “But I did bring it along today so I guess it all has to do with the subjects of this painting.” The woman pulled out a small painting, and put it under the document projector so that it would appear on the screen for all of them to see. 

Vanitas almost didn’t hear the “aw”s of the other students. He felt breathless in a way that he hadn’t felt since the time Demyx had accidentally sucker punched him while practicing a kata. It had been the worst gut hit he’d ever taken, even worse than the time Xaldin had punched him and Sora to give them the idea of what being winded felt like. But of course, Xaldin had held back, whereas Demyx was oblivious to his own strength and so had no idea how to hold back, and had been oblivious to the fact that Vanitas had been so close to him. And right now, Vanitas felt like Demyx had just done a number on his upper body, as on the screen was a painting of two babies, one with blue eyes, one with yellow. 

“Are they your kids?” someone asked, in a sugary-sweet tone that said they thought it was so cute that the artist had painted her children. 

“Not really. I gave birth to them, but rather than calling them my sons, I think it would be more accurate to call them my mistake,” the artist replied bluntly. “I didn’t want them, and I didn’t keep them. But I suppose they did have a bit of an impact on me. I never really notice how much blue and yellow I paint with until I see the finished work. Now, are there any other questions?” 

“If they were a mistake, then why did you paint them?” someone asked. 

“I…” the artist trailed off, unsure of how to proceed. “I’m not really sure. Maybe to remember my mistake. Maybe because I do sometimes wonder how things would have been, had I kept them. Of course I couldn’t, since I was a student myself back then, and also my parents probably would have disowned me for the fact that I didn’t know who their father was, but this is all… Look, I was young, I was going through some stressful times. Had I known I was pregnant, I would have gotten an abortion. But I didn’t notice until late in term because I was missing periods for almost a year due to stress, and I thought the food cravings and weight gain were from stress eating, and it was too late for an abortion and besides there was someone who was interested in adopting them so it’s not like I just abandoned them or anything. Now are there any more questions?” Several hands went up, and the artist, sensing their thoughts, amended her words. “Any more questions about art.” Most of the hands went down. 

As the class wrapped up, Vanitas found himself pondering what had just happened. Maybe he was wrong. But how many twins were there were one had blue eyes and the other had yellow? Aside from a few of his dads, he couldn’t think of anyone else who had yellow eyes. They weren’t all that common. But if he was right, how should he feel right now? Because if this was his mom, hadn’t she just called him and Sora a mistake? But maybe she’d think differently if she met them. Or at least, if she met Sora. Vanitas knew he didn’t always leave the best impressions. 

The teacher finally ended the class. Before the Q&A, Vanitas would have casually sauntered out of the room, too cool to really hurry but also wasting no time in escaping. He might even have emulated Sora and charged out as if the lunch they would buy would escape the cafeteria before they got there. But now he gathered his things slowly, biding his time as people filed out of the room. A few students approached the artist, too shy to ask questions during class, but still having things to ask. 

By the time the last person left and Vanitas walked to where the artist was packing up, the artist seemed rather annoyed. She greeted him with a pained smile. 

“I really hope this isn’t about my personal life again,” she informed him. 

“Uh, well, it kinda is? I was just wondering about those twins. Were they born about 18 years ago? Say, April 1995?”* 

“What are you…” the artist trailed off, peering into his face for the first time. Vanitas sighed and held still. He still felt an urge to shuffle his feet when people looked him in the eye for the first time- which was often the only time- but he wasn’t going to let their discomfort get to him. That wasn’t his way of life. 

“And were their names Travis and David? And did you give them to a man named Xehanort?” he pressed. 

“David?” the woman whispered. 

“Va-NI-tas! I’m hunnnngryyyyy,” Sora complained, bouncing down through the tiered seating of the lecture hall to put his hands on Vanitas’s shoulders and pout. The artist’s eyes were very wide now, almost the size of saucers. 

“Y-you’re… Oh my god. This can’t be real. Please tell me you are wearing contacts.” 

“Hey! My brother’s eyes are cool!” Sora protested, straightening up and stepping forward to stand next to Vanitas rather than leaning on his back. 

“Sora, that’s not-” Vanitas tried to explain, but Sora had already launched into rant mode. 

“It’s not nice when people say mean things about your eyes. Why can’t more people be like Gramma Perdy? She says your eyes are warm like honey, but to everyone else it’s ‘they’re creepy’ or ‘they’re unnerving’ or-” 

“Sora, shut up!" Vanitas snapped. "She didn’t mean it that way. She meant… That is… I think this is our mom.” 

“Um, Earth to Vanitas? This isn’t Mama Xion or the Lady. This is…" Sora trailed off, his eyes going wide. "Oh, you mean our MOM mom. Really? You think so?” 

“Er, yeah," Vanitas said, then turned back to the artist. "So um, about what I asked…” 

“I’d ask which question I should answer, but the answer to all of them is yes,” the woman said, not looking at them. 

“What questions?” Sora asked. 

“Questions about whether or not she’s our mom. And since she said yes, then she is.” 

“Really? Cool! Nice to meet you, mom. I’m Sora,” Sora said, and caught the woman in a bear hug. 

“Er, that’s… um…” the artist stammered. Sora didn’t notice. 

“This is so great, right Van? We should spend some time together. You should come have lunch with us, and you can meet some of our friends, and we can catch up, and you should come visit us sometime so you can meet all our parents, and-” 

“Sora, you’re doing it again,” Vanitas said warningly. When Sora got excited he tended to talk nonstop, and also might forget certain social boundaries. Like the time he’d gotten excited about a physics lab in high school and had very nearly kissed their teacher, who was male and very strict and would not have taken it well. 

“Oops,” Sora said, and let go of the artist. “But you will have lunch with us, right?” 

The artist was still rather shell-shocked, and didn’t respond. 

“Alright, let’s go!” Sora said, and took her hand and led the way out of the room. Luckily she’d finished packing her bag, so Vanitas grabbed it and trailed after them, ready to hand it over once she decided to make a speedy getaway. But the woman didn’t run, and before Vanitas knew it, they were all sitting down at a table where Kairi, Riku, and Ventus were waiting, all laden with heaping plates of pasta. 

“These are our best friends,” Sora said. “That’s our cousin Ventus, and that’s Riku. He’s one of our oldest friends and also Vanitas’s boyfriend. And this,” he said, hugging Kairi with one arm, “is MY girlfriend, Kairi.” 

“Did you just imply that I’m a girl?” Riku asked. 

“What? No. No way,” Sora sputtered. 

“Actually, Sora, you kinda did,” Ventus said. "Just a little bit." 

“Riku, you know I’d date you either way,” Vanitas said, causing Riku to blush. 

“How did I imply Riku’s a girl?” Sora asked. “I didn’t right?” he asked Kairi. 

“Well, when you emphasized the word ‘my’, it made it seem like you’d introduced someone else’s girlfriend first,” Kairi said. 

“That’s not what I meant! I just think it’s great that you’re my girlfriend and wanted to make it clear that you’re not someone else’s girlfriend,” Sora protested. 

Kairi giggled, then moved the conversation on before the others could tease Sora any more. “And who’s this?” she asked. 

“Oh, this is our mom. Vanitas found her.” 

Everyone turned to stare at Vanitas. 

“Wait, really?” Ventus asked. 

“How?” Riku asked. 

“There was a painting,” was all Vanitas said. 

“Oh, you’re an artist?” Kairi asked. 

“So that’s where you get it from,” Riku teased. 

“Puh-leez. I am awesome at whatever I want to do on my own, not thanks to some genetic freakiness,” Vanitas said, lightly punching Riku’s shoulder. 

The rest of lunch went fairly smoothly, until Sora suggested that she come meet their parents again. The artist already looked uncomfortable with the idea, but then things got worse. 

“Um, Sora, I’m not sure that’s such a good idea,” Kairi told him. 

“Yeah. Your parents can be a bit intimidating,” Riku said. Of the people present, Riku was the only one who had even vaguely understood this, as Sora, Ven, and Vanitas had all grown up around the Yakuza 13, and Kairi had always been on their good side. Riku, on the other hand, had initially bullied the twins, and it had taken a long time for the parents to stop resenting him for it. 

“But I wanna show her what great parents we have!” 

“That’s quite alright,” the artist insisted. “I’m sure Xehanort takes good care of you.” If she’d known she would meet her sons today, she might have been okay with this, but she had been caught completely off guard. She wasn’t prepared to deal with her sons. 

Ventus shuddered at the mention of Xehanort. 

“Trust me, Xehanort doesn’t take good care of anyone,” he said. 

“Yeah, Grandpa Xehanort is kinda creepy,” Sora agreed. 

“You mean pure evil?” Ventus countered. 

“But I gave you two to Xehanort…” the artist said, confused. 

“And he gave us to his son, Xemnas, and now Xemnas and all our other parents take care of us,” Sora said. 

The artist had heard the name Xemnas before. Most people had. 

“Er, just how many parents do you have?” she asked. 

“Fourteen,” Sora said brightly. 

There were only 13 leaders of the infamous gang that Xemnas ran, but the artist supposed that maybe one was married or something. 

“I need to go,” she said, standing up. 

“Oh, okay,” Sora said. “But why don’t I give you my number and you can text me when’s a good time for you to come over?” 

“No, no, I don’t think that’s a good idea. Goodbye Travis, David.” 

“But mom, aren’t you-” 

“Don’t call me that! I’m not your mom. I never wanted you. The only good thing about having you two was that Xehanort gave me enough money for giving you to him that I was able to pay off my student debt and get started as an artist! I don’t want to meet your parents, and I don’t want anything to do with you!” The artist stormed off, leaving Sora sitting there stunned. 

“Hey Riku, Ven, why don’t we go see if the vending machine has those sodas. The ones that taste like, um…” Kairi said. 

“The ones that are paopu flavored?” Riku asked, taking the hint. 

The three of them headed off, and Vanitas slid over next to his brother. Sora wasn’t crying, but that was probably only on the outside. Vanitas knew his twin was hurt by what their mother had said. Because it wasn’t just Sora who was hurt; he was too. 

“It’s okay Sor,” he said. “We don’t need her. We’re better off without her.” 

“But she’s our mom,” Sora said numbly. 

“So? She gave us up. And lucky us too. Because now we’ve got all our parents, and that’s something that wouldn’t have happened otherwise. Who needs a mom like that when we’ve got twelve awesome dads and two great maternal figures.” 

“And our cousins,” Sora mumbled. 

“Yeah, and our cousins," Vanitas agreed. "And Uncle Eraqus. And Lexaeus and Axel and Xion’s families.” 

“But she’s-” 

“Not worth our time?" Vanitas said, cutting his brother off. He didn't want to hear Sora defend someone who had just talked down to them. "Sora, don’t worry about it. We’ve got a great adoptive family. I’m the only biological family you need.” 

“I guess,” Sora said, turning away. He didn’t actually agree and was just trying to leave the argument behind, Vanitas knew. And suddenly Vanitas wished he’d just used one of his three unexcused absences today, and that he’d never gotten them into this mess. But oh well. 

* * *

Twyla heaved a huge sigh as she got back to her hotel room. She hadn’t expected that at all. To meet those boys, Travis and David, or whatever they’d been calling themselves, after all these years. She was only back in her hometown accompanying her husband on a business trip, and had been asked by some local schools to do a lecture tour. What were the odds that David would show up as a student at one of her guest lectures, and that he’d figure out who she was? And why had she brought that stupid painting of them, even if she really liked it in spite of herself? 

Her husband got back to the hotel and together they ate dinner. She tried to forget the events of that day. But despite what she’d said, she really did care. It had been heart-wrenching when she’d developed ovarian cancer and had to get her ovaries removed. She’d always wanted to be a mom someday, and her husband had wanted to be a dad, but then it had become impossible. And so now the only children she’d ever have were a couple of boys born from an unknown father she’d drunkenly hooked up with. It made her want to treasure those boys as her only offspring at the same time it made her resent them because she wasn’t really their mother anymore, especially not since she’d agreed to give up all rights to them so that they could be adopted back when they were five. 

As she lay in bed that night, Twyla came to a decision. She’d go, just once, and try to see what their life was like. They’d seemed happy enough, and they said they were well cared for, but could you really say a bunch of gangsters were bad parents without repercussions? She had to see for herself. 

And if they were bad parents? What then? She had never told her husband about the twins, and it would be rather awkward if she just brought them home and told her husband to pack up because they needed to get her sons out of there ASAP. And could one actually outrun the Yakuza 13? Well, if the situation called for it, she might have to try. 

The next day, Twyla found herself getting in her car and driving downtown to where the Yakuza 13 headquarters were. How should she do this? Should she try and sneak in? As if. There was no way she could. Perhaps she should demand to see the twins? Or ask to speak to the leader? 

Twyla hadn’t finished formulating her plan before she reached the building, and found herself pushing through the main entrance without a clue as to what she would do next. 

“What are you doing here?” a man asked. Once again, she was caught off guard, and cursed her lack of improvisation skills. 

“I um, uh, my boys, er, the twins that I, uh, I gave birth to them but they live here now, or rather, Travis and David…” it was completely incoherent. She must seem like a nutcase. Or the most incompetent spy ever or something. The man was certainly giving her an odd look. 

“Adam, I’ll handle this,” a man said, coming down a set of stairs. He was a rather large man with black hair in many braids, thick eyebrows and sideburns, and a scary face. 

“Yes sir,” the first man said, and walked away. 

“So, you’re Sora and Vanitas’s birth mother?” the man asked. Twyla nodded, uncertain. 

“Nice to meet you. I’m one of their dads, Xaldin.” 

“T-Twyla.” 

“So what brings you here?” 

“I, um, I m-met them. Recently. The other day. Yesterday. And I was, that is, I wanted to see if, how they’re doing.” 

“In other words, one of them, probably Sora, mentioned that we’re their parents and you wanted to see if they’re really okay being raised by the Yakuza 13.” Xaldin loomed over her, and Twyla felt her heart trying to run away, since her feet seemed to have forgotten how to do so. 

Xaldin laughed, and Twyla nearly fell over. She realized that he hadn’t been glaring at her, merely that he had a face that appeared to be glowering most of the time. He put a hand on her shoulder and began steering her towards an elevator. 

“Well, there have been a few scrapes here and there, but really, after the first kidnapping attempt, no one’s really dared to go after them,” he told her. Somehow, Twyla was not particularly reassured. 

They entered the elevator and Xaldin pushed a button, and up they went. The elevator stopped and they got out, and Twyla saw a small room with a couple of chairs, both of which were occupied, one by a scrawny blonde guy who looked similar to David and Travis’s “cousin” and the other by a scarlet haired man who was chatting animatedly. Xaldin walked up to the door and was about to open it when, without the slightest break in his chatter, the redhead said “Better not, Pop. The old man is in the middle of arguing with his uncle. Bit of a war zone in there at the moment.” 

The redhead finished the sentence he’d been saying to the blonde, but the blonde wasn’t listening. He was eyeing Twyla suspiciously. 

“Xaldin, who’s this? You know Xemnas doesn’t allow outsiders up here.” 

“I figured he’d make an exception for the twins’ birth mom,” Xaldin replied. Both men shot to their feet. 

“What?” 

“Their birth mom? Really?” 

“What brought this about?” 

“Apparently she met them yesterday and wanted to see how things are for them here with us.” 

“Oh,” the redhead looked disgusted. “She wants to make sure we don’t make them sleep on beds of nails and such.” 

“Axel,” the blonde chided. “I seriously doubt that’s why she’s here.” 

“Optimist,” Axel muttered. 

“It’s not optimism. Besides, shouldn’t we be happy she cares about them enough to come see us?” 

“You’re still an optimist.” 

“Well someone around here has to be, and since none of you are, then it has to be me.” 

“If you’ll excuse us, I’m going to introduce her to Xemnas,” Xaldin interrupted, and opened the door, striding in with Twyla behind him. 

“I’m calling Xion,” Twyla heard the blonde man say before the door closed behind her. 

“Xaldin, get- Who is this? There’s no outsiders up here!” a man with silver hair barked. Despite the color of his hair, he didn’t look particularly old. Across the room, a man with gray streaked black hair was standing with his arms crossed, his back to the speaker. 

“This is Twyla, and she’s Sora and Vanitas’s birth mom.” 

If Twyla had felt unwelcome before from the redhead’s reaction, it was nothing compared to the outright hostility she felt from this man. No, both men. The second man had turned towards them, and the coldness in his eyes would have made liquid nitrogen seem warm. 

“You mean to say that this miserable excuse of a person is the heartless wretch that gave those boys to my father?” the silver-haired man said, venom dripping from his voice. 

“Sir, Twyla is here for the sake of the twins, and you’re scaring her,” Xaldin said drily. “Besides, I’m pretty sure Roxas and Axel will have called at least half of the others by now, and some of us actually are grateful to her, since we got the twins as a result of her actions, which I’m sure you’ll agree is a good thing. Or do I need to get Zexion up here to remind you of the statistics?” 

Xemnas growled. “Fine. I’m busy anyways.” He waved them out of the room, and they left, though Twyla felt the eyes of the second man on her as she left. As they reentered the outer room, Twyla found herself in the midst of a mob of people- mostly men. There was only one woman, though Twyla almost mistook her for a man. She found herself being introduced to a Saix, a Luxord, a giant named Lexaeus, a Zexion, a Vexen, a Xigbar, and the woman was Larxene. They bombarded her with stories, like how the twins had mistaken Saix for a woman when they were young, or how Vanitas used to catch frogs to hide in places for Larxene to find, or how when they’d decided to crossdress, Vexen had believed the twins to be transgender and had offered to give them the operation. They all crammed into the elevator to head to a larger place, and there they were met by a man named Demyx and a visibly pregnant woman holding a little boy who was sucking his thumb. The second woman introduced herself as Xion, and the boy as Ephemer. 

It was all very overwhelming for Twyla. She could hardly keep straight who was who, and they were bombarding her with stories about the twins that she couldn’t keep up with. And then suddenly it was getting dark, and they were all offering to give her a ride and when they found out she drove herself they offered to pay for her parking fees and then they were insisting she come to their movie night the next evening so she could talk to the twins. She wasn’t sure she was ready to talk to them yet, especially after what she’d said yesterday. Travis in particular had looked hurt, though she’d tried to ignore it at the time. But at the same time, could she really turn down the Yakuza 13? Probably not. 

* * *

Twyla’s husband was very worried by how late she got back. When she told him about the twins, he had mixed feelings; anger that she’d never told him, joy because any children of hers were children of his as well, and disappointment that she’d given them up so easily. In some ways, his feelings reflected her own. 

And then Twyla got to the part about the adoptive parents. 

“Twyla, darling, you can’t possibly be serious. Your sons were adopted by the Yakuza 13, and you went to see them today? There is no way a gang would adopt children, and if they did, they would be horrible parents and the boys would never survive. And IF all that were true, and you went to go see them, you are absolutely insane! I cannot believe this.” 

“Well, they’ve invited me to a movie night tomorrow to see the boys. So you can see for yourself then.” It was more confrontational than Twyla usually was, but she was frustrated. It was so confusing, and her husband was not helping at all. 

They were still on less than good terms the next evening as they waited outside their hotel for their ride to the movie night. They’d gone outside early, concerned about what might happen should they make the Yakuza 13 wait for them, and the waiting wasn’t doing either of them any good. 

Finally a car pulled up. The young man behind the wheel wasn’t any of the people she’d met the day before, though Twyla recognized the boy in the front seat as Travis and David’s “cousin”. 

“We’re not late are we?” the driver asked. 

“Well maybe if you had listened when I told you to take the other exit,” Ventus said. 

“Whatever. Aqua said we were supposed to pick them up at 4:30 and it’s only 4:28, so I’d say the exit didn’t make much of a difference, Ven.” He turned to Twyla. “So you’re Sora and Vanitas’s birth mom, huh? They’re really great kids, though Vanny can be a bit of a jerk. I’m their cousin, Terra.” 

Twyla shook Terra’s hand and introduced her husband, hoping she wouldn’t have to awkwardly explain that he wasn’t the twins’ father. She didn’t, and they all climbed into the car and drove off. Twyla was somewhat surprised when they made their way to a nondescript neighborhood and pulled up to a house that was completely normal looking aside from the ridiculous amount of cars outside. Terra and Ventus led the way inside and downstairs to a basement that was filled with all the people from yesterday, as well as a few new people who were introduced as their other cousin Aqua, their neighbor Gene, their uncle’s neighbor Quasimodo, and their neighbor Maurice and his daughter Belle. 

Introductions were hardly over when they heard the front door open again, and one of the twins called “We’re hoooooome!” 

From the amount of noise on the stairs, it sounded like a stampede of rhinos was coming down, but it turned out it was only Travis, followed more slowly by David and their friends Kairi and Riku. 

“Vanitas lost at rock-paper-scissors so I get to choose first-” Travis began energetically, but he trailed off when he saw Twyla. “Oh.” 

“What’s she doing here?” David asked, grabbing a handful of popcorn from a bowl held by Ventus and leaning on Riku, who stole a few kernels for himself. 

“We invited her,” Demyx said smugly. 

“W-well, I guess that means that mom gets first pick!” Travis said brightly, but Twyla could hear the strain in his voice that indicated it was false cheer. 

“Travis,” she said. 

Travis looked around a moment, the pointed to himself. “Who, me?” 

Twyla sighed. “What did you call yourself again? Ssss…” 

“Sora.” 

“Sora then. I’m sorry for what I said the other day. It’s just… I wasn’t ready to be a mom when you two were born. And I’m not really ready to just suddenly be your mom now. It’s just a little overwhelming.” 

“Oh, well that’s alright,” Travis- Sora- said, with actual cheer. David wasn’t so accepting. 

“Like hell that’s alright,” he said, coming to stand by his twin. “You don’t get to just say what you want and show up two days later with an ‘I’m sorry’ and everything’s all better.” 

“But Vanitas, she apologized!” Sora protested. 

“You’re too forgiving,” David/Vanitas muttered. 

“And you’re too sulky! You’re just embarrassed and are trying to hide it, aren’t you?” 

“No!” Vanitas said quickly. “I just… you know what, nevermind. You wouldn’t get it anyways.” He turned away, but Twyla noticed a blush on his face. 

The movie night went on, and by the end of it Twyla found Sora sitting beside her, and Vanitas behind them, occasionally leaning forward to make snarky comments for her and Sora to hear. Twyla knew she would never really be their mother, but she found herself growing fond of these boys. Perhaps she could visit every now and then. But for now, they were doing fine, better than fine even, with a loving family. She couldn’t do better for them. But she would be there if they ever needed her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Yes we know 1995 was not 18 years ago. That was just the birth year we arbitrarily decided on based on when we plan to have this series end.  
> Also, some of you may recall back in part one of this series we mentioned that there was a theme to Sora and Vanitas's birth names. Their mom's name is also within that theme.


	18. Only For the Night: Age - 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: mentions of break-ups. We did not intend for this to be coming out right before Valentine's Day, it just happened that way. Sorry.

Ven leaned back from his notes, stretching his arms and tipping his chair onto two legs, which caused the librarian to glare at him. When he came back down Ven glanced at his phone to check the time only to realize he had received a text message. He frowned at the name _‘My True Master.’_ Vanitas must have hacked into his phone again. 

Opening up his phone revealed the text which simply read _“I’m bored, entertain me.”_

This caused Ven’s forehead to crease as he brought his brows together in worry. Vanitas was never bored; he was always plotting something, or if he wasn’t plotting he was enacting his schemes. If Vanitas was bored it meant something was wrong. 

_“I’m studying right now, can’t you bother Sora?”_ It was a safe bet that whatever might be troubling Vanitas, his twin Sora could help him out. 

Ven promptly received a reply. _“Sora’s studying for a chem midterm with friends. So I must settle for you.”_

Ah. That explained it. Ven know for a fact that Vanitas shared his chemistry class with Sora. So if he wasn’t studying with them, it meant Riku was within the group of friends. Riku, who had recently dumped Vanitas for someone else. Likely Vanitas could use a distraction from thinking about him. 

_“Shouldn’t you be studying for midterms too?”_

Again, the response was immediate. _“Only need to finish a portrait tomorrow by 6 PM.”_

And that was strike three. The portrait Vanitas was working on had been using Riku as a model. Combining Vanitas’s ‘boredom’ and how much he denied being upset about the break-up even though he had been moping around their dorm room for the past month meant that it was time for an intervention. After one last arm stretch, Ven shoved his notes haphazardly into his backpack and left the library. 

An hour and half later Ven was standing outside his and Vanitas’s dorm room juggling a pizza, a bag of groceries and some movies. Once he managed to have a free hand, he opened the door and called out. “Vanitas, I’m back.” Ventus kicked off his shoes and walked past their closets into the main area where he saw Vanitas sprawled out in the lower bunkbed munching on trailmix. “You’re eating in my bed again.” Ven said flatly. 

Vanitas shrugged. “What can I say, your bed is entirely too comfortable and is perfectly suited for watching the TV.” Of course, Vanitas didn’t mention that he mainly did this because he knew how much it bugged Ven. No action was too big or too small if it annoyed his roommate. 

Ven sighed and placed the items he had bought on the desk so he could take off his backpack and coat. “Well, scoot over because I’m joining you. And I hope you’re still hungry because I brought pizza.” 

With a raised eyebrow Vanitas complied. “You know, I thought you’d be more upset.” 

“Consider this a one-time exception. But if you stain the blanket Aqua knit for me, I will end you.” Ven plopped down on his bed, opening the pizza box and placing it between them. “Now, what movie do you want to watch first?” he asked, fanning out the two movies he had brought in his hand. 

After looking at the two movies, Vanitas grabbed one of them. “Bowe Existence?” Vanitas said questioningly, “I thought you disliked this movie.” 

Ven shrugged. “I do, but I know you like it.” 

Vanitas glared suspiciously at Ven. “Okay, what is going on? You hate it when I leave crumbs in your bed. Why are you acting nice? You’re not planning on killing me are you? This isn’t my last meal is it?” Vanitas asked jokingly, gesturing towards the pizza. 

Ventus merely gave a Vanitas a look. 

“Look, if this is about Riku, I’m not upset about him at all. Just because he’s the longest I’ve ever dated someone doesn’t mean it was anything serious.” Vanitas ranted. 

A corner of Ven’s mouth twitched upwards in a smile. “Who said anything about Riku? Though since you brought it up, do you want to talk about it?” 

Vanitas shot Ven a venomous glare before crossing his arms and slouching down. “No.” 

Giving a slight sigh, Ven responded, “Alright. I’ll start the movie, but if you feel up to it. I’m willing to listen.” He had been too blunt, he’d have to think of something else and try again. So Ven simply got up and placed Bowe Existence into the DVD player then settled back down. 

Ven needn’t have worried, after fifteen minutes of the movie and four slices of pizza Vanitas spoke on his own. 

“I really liked him you know?” Vanitas muttered, uncrossing his arms. He was so quiet that Ven almost didn’t hear it and it took him a few moments to respond. 

“Yeah? Seriously liked him?” Ven asked, turning his head to face Vanitas. 

Vanitas nodded. “I seriously liked him.” He bit his lip. “I thought I might’ve even lo-“ Vanitas shook his head. “Never mind.” 

“Nope, tell me all about it.” Ven insisted, getting up to grab the last bag off his desk. “Or else you don’t get either of these.” Out of the bag Ven pulled two small tubs of ice cream and waved them tauntingly in Vanitas’s face. 

Vanitas gave a weak smile. “Are you bribing me with ice cream?” 

“If it gets you to talk about Riku? Then yes.” Ven said determinedly. 

“Fine, give me the Chunky Monkey.” Vanitas said. 

Ven handed the tub over and dug around in his desk drawer for silverware, finding only a spoon and a fork. They made themselves comfortable once again on Ven’s bed, facing each other cross-legged. The pizza box was placed on the floor and Ven nonchalantly paused the movie. Once they had gotten several spoonfuls, or forkfuls, of slightly melted ice cream, Vanitas spoke. 

“I thought that maybe he was the one. That maybe we would spend the rest of our life together. Ugh, that sounds so sappy.” 

Ven let out a whistle. “Which makes it all the more impressive, coming from you. I didn’t realize you liked him so much.” 

Vanitas stared sadly into his ice cream. “I do. Or I did. Or, I don’t know. I just really miss him.” He stabbed the spoon vehemently into his ice cream and brought a large chunk into his mouth. “And now he’s with some blonde bimbo!” he muffled. 

Leaning over, Ven put a hand over the hand Vanitas was using to hold his ice cream. “It’s okay.” He murmured. “Let it all out.” 

To Vanitas’s surprise he could feel wetness on his cheeks. He was crying. Fiercely scrubbing his face with the inside of his elbow, Vanitas protested, “I’m not crying! I’m just allergic to the ice cream. Hand me yours.” 

Without protest, Ven complied, deciding not to mention how despite Van’s ‘allergy’ he had finished the whole pint in record time. 

After a few spoonfuls of peppermint bonbon Vanitas began speaking again, tears still building in his eyes. “It just hurts. I don’t know how to handle this. Knowing that I wasn’t good enough for him. He meant something to me and I’m just nothing.” 

“Vanitas…” Ven trailed off, uncertain what to say. 

“And now I’m too scared to look him in the face!” Vanitas continued like Ven hadn’t said anything. “I’m afraid of what I’ll see there. Afraid to see the contempt he must have for the sorry excuse of a man who thought he had something meaningful when he really didn’t.” 

“Vanitas.” This time Ven wrapped his arms around Vanitas and pulled him into a hug. Ven rubbed Vanitas’s back soothingly as he sobbed into Ven’s shoulder. 

After a while Vanitas grew silent and still, but didn’t move from his position against Ven. 

“Vanitas?” Ven asked. But there was no reply, only the sound of deep steady breaths. Vanitas had fallen asleep. 

Carefully, Ven laid Vanitas down in his bed so his head was resting in a pillow. “You’re such a jerk.” Ventus said fondly. “Always taking up space in my bed.” Ven placed the covers over him. “But I guess I can forgive you. After all, you’re not all bad.” 

Ven got up to turn off the TV then crawled into the bed beside Vanitas, not wanting to leave him alone, even if he was asleep. 

* * *

The next morning Vanitas woke up feeling groggy and confused. Why wasn’t he in his own bed? Something had woken him up. “Ventus?” he muttered. 

Ven flashed him a smile from over by the trash can, where he was throwing last night’s mess away. “Sorry. Did I wake you?” 

“Why are you awake? It’s like,” Vanitas squinted at his cellphone, “7:30 in the morning.” 

“I have an 8 AM that I can’t miss.” Ven responded, placing the dirty silverware on his desk. He’d have to wash them later. 

“Oh” was Vanitas’s reply as he sat up. 

“Nuh-uh, you’re not getting up are you?” Ven asked, quickly approaching the bed. 

Vanitas frowned. “I’m awake, so I’m getting up.” 

Ven sat on the edge of the bed and tried to push Vanitas back down. “No you’re not. You’re going back to sleep. You haven’t be sleeping well, the circles under your eyes can be seen from space.” 

“Fine, Fine.” Vanitas let Ven push him back down. “But no complaining I’m in your bed.” 

“I won’t.” Ven had no idea what instinct made him do it, but he gently pushed aside Vanitas’s hair and placed a kiss on his forehead. “Sleep well.” He said. 

Vanitas eyes widened in surprise, but before he could respond Ven was grabbing his coat and backpack and was out the door, leaving Vanitas to stare at the metal rungs above him as he held a hand to his forehead, wondering what had just happened. 

Just outside of the dorm room and down the hall Ventus was panicking. What had he done? Had he really kissed Vanitas? It was only on the forehead and Aqua did it all the time when he wasn’t feeling well, but still! It was Vanitas! The jerk who would take things without asking and return them broken, who left one sheet of toilet paper on the roll on purpose, and who had no concept of personal space whatsoever! Why would he kiss him?! 

And as Ven brought his hand to cover his mouth, he wondered if he actually regretted it. Ven shook his head vehemently. Of course he regretted it! But this was no time to be thinking such things, he had a midterm to take. So, pushing away from the wall he was leaning against Ven made his way to the stairs, deciding to put the incident as far out of his mind as possible. 

* * *

Three hours later Ven returned to his dorm tired and worn out. Vanitas looked up from his computer on the top bunk and gave a small ‘Hey.’ 

“Mrrff” was Ven’s response. As he trundled past his desk Ven merely shrugged out of his coat and backpack then collapsed face first into bed. 

Vanitas leaned over the railing to look at Ven. “Rough day?” 

“Hmrgleflrgle Yes.” 

“Sucks to be you then.” Vanitas said and went back to the webcomic he was reading. 

Ven let out a grunt of annoyance but otherwise stayed where he was. 

After ten minutes had passed Vanitas leaned over the railing again, “Ventus?” he called. No response; he was sleeping. 

Closing his laptop and putting it aside, Vanitas carefully climbed down from his bed, making sure not to disturb Ventus. He then went to his desk to sit down and grabbed the sketchpad leaning alongside it. Flipping through the sketchpad Vanitas reached a page that made him stop and scowl. The offensive page was torn out and tossed into the garbage and Vanitas continued turning pages until he reached a blank one. Once he did, he looked at Ven’s sleeping face, studying it for a while before grabbing a pencil and starting to sketch. When Vanitas had a decent base he put the pad into a bag to carry, put on his coat and left to finish somewhere else. 

* * *

Two weeks later Vanitas was gone for the weekend, leaving the whole dorm for Ven. Meaning, no snarky roommate hovering over his shoulder. Ven celebrated the only way he knew how. By having a private dance party. Once he was sweaty and tired of doing that, he binge-watched the TV show Bishop late into the night. 

When Ven finally decided to go to sleep he was surprised to hear a crackling underneath his ear. Reaching underneath his pillow, Ven pulled out a large folded piece of paper. Unfolding it revealed a pencil portrait of him, sleeping. Confused, Ven flipped the sketch over to check out the back. In the top left-hand corner was a grade with the comment ‘Great work! The emotion really shined through!” In the bottom right was a sloppily written ‘Thanks’ and a messy signature. 

Ven turned the page back over, studying the drawing with great care. It really was a well done portrait. With a smile, Ven said aloud, “You’re welcome, Vanitas.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once upon a time, the authors were discussing ships to be developed in this fic. One author liked Vanitas/Riku, while the other had a different ship in mind. After some squabbling, the authors decided to compromise, having Vanitas/Riku be a high school fling and the other ship would come into play later. So if you were a fan of Vaniku, sorry, and we hope that you can still enjoy the series regardless.


	19. An Ephemeral Alliance: Age - 19

Before Sora even opened his mouth, Vanitas knew he wasn’t going to like whatever Sora had to say. Sora had that _not guilty_ look on his face which meant that he was feeling guilty. 

“Hey Vannyyyyyyyy,” Sora said, using the nicknames he reserved for times when he wanted to be on Vanitas’s good side and even drawing out the second syllable. Vanitas wasn’t sure what could make Sora this nervous, but if even Sora thought he wouldn’t like it, then there was just no way it could be anything good. 

“What,” he asked flatly. 

“So, um, Riku and I were gonna watch some movies, except his parents are having a garden party at his house so we can’t do it there. A-and-” 

“And you want to know if it’s okay if he comes over here. Why wouldn’t it be?” 

Sora sighed with relief. 

“Sorry. I just thought that, you know, since you two broke up and all, that maybe things might be a little awkward.” 

“Sora, he’s our friend. Of course it’s fine.” There had been two lies there. That Riku was _their_ friend, and that it was fine. Vanitas definitely wasn’t okay with seeing his ex right now. He didn’t think about Riku quite so much anymore, but he still found reminders of all the things he’d loved about Riku in the most unlikely places. Not to mention that they’d been so intimate together that being in the same space without touching would be extremely uncomfortable. As a result, Riku was no friend of Vanitas’s anymore, only Sora’s. 

“Great. I’ll text him and let him know.” As Sora headed for the stairs to return to his room, Vanitas had to bite back a remark asking whether or not Riku’s new girlfriend Namine was coming. Namine was a nice girl, and Vanitas might have even been friends with her without the help of Sora had it not been for the fact that Riku had announced he didn’t want to be together anymore, and when Vanitas had even offered to compromise, something he never did, Riku had gone and told him he had someone else. It had stung, and as nice as Namine was, Vanitas still couldn’t forgive her for it. 

Once Sora was safely up the stairs and had had time to get to his room, Vanitas let his true feelings show a bit, moaning and curling into a ball, his face pressed into his hands. 

“Fuck,” he said. This was going to be so hard to deal with. 

“Mommy says you shouldn’t say that. She says it’s a bad word,” piped a little voice. Vanitas bolted into a sitting position. But luck was on his side, as Ephemer was the only other person in the room, meaning neither Roxas nor Xion had heard him swear in front of their little boy. 

“Yeah well grown-ups can say bad words if they want,” Vanitas retorted. He just hoped the little monster didn’t tattle on him. That was the thing about Ephemer: he was all big eyes and cute face and angelic dimples, and so very few people ever suspected the demonic innards that lay beneath. 

“Can not. And you’re not a grown-up. Dad said you still go to school. Grown-ups don’t go to school.” 

“I go to college, and only grown-ups go to college. Anyways, why are you here?” 

“Mickey’s got a check-up and Daddy’s working, so Mommy said I could hang out with Sora.” 

“Fat chance of that. Riku’s coming over.” 

“Oh. Fuck,” Ephemer repeated, tasting the word as if it were an unfamiliar candy. 

“That’s what I said!” 

“Riku’s gonna hog Sora. It’s not fair,” Ephemer mumbled angrily. “Riku’s a big booger.” 

“Haha, for once, I agree with you,” Vanitas said, laughing. He and Ephemer didn’t get along very often. Ephemer had developed an early attachment to Sora, and an equally early resentment towards Vanitas. Vanitas wasn’t sure which was more likely to have caused it: that he looked like Sora yet wasn’t Sora, or that he didn’t cave in when Ephemer didn’t want to eat his mashed peas, or perhaps because he tickled Ephemer’s feet even though it had made him cry as a baby. 

“I really don’t like Riku,” Ephemer said slowly. 

“Neither do I,” Vanitas agreed. Ephemer smiled and held out a hand. Vanitas stared, uncertain what was happening. 

“Just for today, let’s be friends. So that we can get rid of Riku,” Ephemer suggested. Vanitas really didn’t want to accept the offer. Ephemer was the worst, and he couldn’t even retaliate since he was supposed to be older and more mature and also Xion and Roxas would throw him in jail for it and none of the other parents or Uncle Eraqus would help him out in that case. There were some things you just didn’t do. But at the same time, it would be so nice to do something other than run away with his tail between his legs when his ex came over. He took the hand. 

“You’re on.” 

And Ephemer didn’t even dig his nails in as they shook hands. 

* * *

It was going to be weird hanging out at Vani- at Sora’s place after so long. Riku had almost told Sora they should just cancel their plans, but no, then Sora might pick up on the fact that he felt awkward about seeing Vanitas. After Sora texted back that they could watch movies at his place instead, Riku had spent a panicked half hour on the phone with Namine, trying to strengthen his resolve. He did have genuine feelings for Namine, but he and Vanitas had been… It had been amazing dating Vanitas. It would probably be amazing dating Namine too, but they had only just gotten together really, and he had loved Vanitas. Just that love had gone sour as he’d slowly realized that while Vanitas said he loved him back, their feelings weren’t really the same. For Vanitas, not hating someone was pretty much equivalent to love, but Riku wanted more than to be “not hated”. After telling his woes to the very sympathetic Namine, he’d decided to leave Vanitas, even if it broke his own heart as well. And since that was easier said than done, he’d move on immediately. When he’d first come up with the idea, the moving on was supposed to be feigned so that Vanitas would let him go, and Namine would be a fake girlfriend. But then Riku found himself falling slowly for her. He just wished it was faster, since maybe then his feelings for Vanitas would disappear faster as well. 

Namine was a good sport about him seeing Vanitas though, as always. She was probably feeling a little insecure and hiding it as best she could, and Riku hated himself for making her worry. Still, the things she said were true. He did need to face Vanitas. Just because they had broken up didn’t mean that Riku couldn’t be friends with Sora or any of their mutual friends. They may not be destined, but they were still tied together, connected by a string that was blue rather than red. 

* * *

“Let’s see, where did Vexen put those laxatives?” Vanitas asked, rummaging through the cluttered medicine cabinet. It would help if he remembered the pill name, since everything in there had fancy names that ended in -ine or -ol or -ate and gave no indication what they were used for, meaning he had to check the labels to see their purposes. 

“What’s laxatives?” Ephemer asked. 

“Ask Vexen, he'd be happy to tell you. But be warned, he's prone to lengthy explanations that go into way more detail than you need.” 

“I think I’ll just ask daddy,” Ephemer said, in a tone that indicated he was all too familiar with the ramblings of his “uncle”. 

“You do that,” Vanitas said, rolling his eyes. He didn’t really want to explain laxatives to Ephemer, in case the brat decided to swipe some and use them on him at some later point in time. As a lifelong prankster, he knew you couldn’t be too careful. He’d learned that the hard way, back when Sora and cousin Ventus had switched his shampoo with hair-dying goop. 

“Aha!” Vanitas exclaimed, finally finding a label that met his needs. “Alright. We’ll just add some of this to Riku’s drink. It’ll take a while, but it will definitely make him miserable.” 

“And then he’ll stay away from Sora?” 

“Yup. In the meantime, I know just the thing to do.” 

“Which is?” 

“Riku loves jelly beans.” 

“So what? I don’t want to know what he loves.” 

“Oh but you do, because he especially loves the red ones. But you know something? He hates spicy food.” 

“I still don’t get it,” Ephemer pouted. 

“Well I just so happen to have some hot tamales, which look a lot like red jelly beans, as well as some assorted jelly beans," Vanitas grinned. "Meaning all we have to do it mix in a few hot tamales.” 

“To replace all the red ones?” 

“No, we leave some actual ones in, so he can’t be sure which ones are hot and which ones are good.” 

“Ohhhhh,” Ephemer said. “I don’t get it.” 

“Trust me,” Vanitas said, ruffling the boy’s already messy hair. 

* * *

Riku hesitated as he pulled up at the curb in front of the house. Was he really ready for this? No, he wasn’t. Especially not since he’d somehow let Sora talk him into staying the night as well. He didn’t want to go back home tonight since some of his parents’ guests would surely be staying over, but was it really better to spend the night in the same house as Vanitas? 

As he got out of the car, he hoped that maybe Vanitas would have cleared out once he heard Riku was coming over. After all, Vanitas had seemed just as eager to avoid Riku lately. He approached the door, but before he could ring the bell, Sora was opening the door and welcoming him in. Riku found his own way to Sora’s room to drop off his bag, having been to Sora and Vanitas’s house countless times over the years. He almost messed up and went to the wrong bedroom, proving that old habits did indeed die hard. As he left, he closed the door, then turned and almost ran right into Vanitas. 

“Oh. Er, hi Vanitas,” Riku said awkwardly, trying not to blush. 

Vanitas grunted in reply, and pushed past Riku to go into the bathroom. Riku scurried down to the basement where Sora was setting up the dvd player, feeling like he was just running away. He told himself that he was already heading that way, and that he was just hurrying so that he wouldn’t keep Sora waiting, but he couldn’t make himself believe it. 

When Riku reached the basement, Sora wasn’t alone. His little brother, Ephemer, was there as well, sitting in Sora’s lap and munching on popcorn. 

“I hope you don’t mind, but since Ephemer’s over, he’ll be joining us, and so I gave him first pick.” 

“That’s fine,” Riku said. 

“We’re watching “Royaltabbies,” Ephemer said happily. 

“Wow I haven’t seen that movie in years. I used to love it,” Riku said, sitting down. For a moment he thought Ephemer made a face, but he must have imagined it. There was a bag of jelly beans on the snack table, and Riku snagged them, grateful to his friend for remembering how much he liked the candy. He had plenty of good friends, but no one came through for people like Sora did. It was what had made Riku doggedly maintain their friendship over the years, even arguing with his parents until they’d let him go to the same school as Sora. He could only hope he was half as good a friend to Sora as Sora was to him. 

Riku grabbed a handful of jelly beans, separating the red ones to save them for last before popping the rest into his mouth. Once those ones were down, he began eating the red ones, enjoying the sweet taste of cherries. 

The third red jelly bean wasn’t right. The moment he bit down, he knew something was dreadfully wrong. This wasn’t cherries. This was cinnamon, and it was setting his mouth on fire. Riku lunged for his drink, but in his hurry, he knocked it over instead, spilling it all over the floor. In desperation, he grabbed Sora’s water and chugged, silently apologizing. 

“Riku, what’s wrong?” Sora asked, lifting Ephemer out of his lap and rushing to get paper towels to mop up the mess. 

“Sora, where did you get these jelly beans?” Riku panted after gulping the water. 

“Oh, Vanitas had some he wanted to get rid of,” Sora said, trying to get up the spilled soda. “Man, Mar’s gonna be pissed about this. He’s such a neat freak.” 

“Sorry. They jelly beans were just a little… hot,” Riku said. “Is there anything I should do?” 

“Nah, I’ll get the rest of it later. For now this is good. Just try not to knock anything else over, okay?” 

* * *

Sora gently kicked Ephemer out after the first movie so he and Riku could watch things Ephemer wasn’t allowed to see yet. Ephemer didn’t want to leave Sora alone with Riku, but he supposed he ought to report to Van. 

“So how’d it go?” Vanitas asked when Ephemer walked into his room. 

“Mmmmmm, bad, good, and bad.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“I tried to pick a movie he wouldn’t like, but it didn’t work. The jelly beans got him, but he stopped eating them after Sora told him they came from you. And the drink didn’t work because he knocked it over.” 

“Dam-” Vanitas began, then remembered he wasn’t supposed to swear. “-p. Towels. Damp towels. Since they knocked over the drink, they’ll have damp towels that need to be washed.” Vanitas said, trying to cover up his mistake. He wasn’t sure Ephemer was convinced though. The kid had a poker face that could rival Vanitas’s own, and maybe even Luxord’s. 

“Alright. So maybe that didn’t work, but so what? We’ll get him. Just wait. On to phase two,” Vanitas said. He was disappointed, but he could recover. And besides, it would be a waste if Riku gave up so easily when he and Ephemer had made such elaborate plans for dinner. 

Vanitas got to work setting up Riku’s chair while Ephemer went to “help” with dinner. Specifically, he was to “accidentally” put sugar on Riku’s hamburger patty rather than salt. Next, Vanitas got to work tampering with the mustard bottle, since the only person who would be at dinner tonight who liked mustard on their burgers was Riku. Vanitas wanted to do more, but sawing through the legs of Riku’s chair would be sure to attract some very negative parental attention and get him in hot water. The last time he’d angered one of his parents, he’d come back from class one day to find his clothes had all gone missing. He’d managed to go for four days before someone made a comment and he finally called his parents to admit defeat and apologize. He had a feeling things would be even more difficult if he irked them again. 

Eventually the burgers were done, and they all sat down to dinner. Vanitas waited for Riku to flush red in shame following a loud farting sound, but he took his seat and scooted in in silence. Had he perhaps noticed the cushion and removed it? Vanitas hid his disappointment by turning to Ephemer to help him with his burger. 

Just then, Lexaeus and Larxene walked in. 

“Mind if we join you?” Larxene asked. 

“Please. I made extra,” Xigbar said. 

Lexaeus made a foray into the kitchen, and returned with plates for Larxene and himself. They sat down, and Lexaeus reached for the mustard, which Riku had yet to touch. 

Lexaeus had barely opened the mustard when it splurted out all over the table. Larxene nearly fell out of her chair trying to avoid the disaster. 

“Okay, who-” she began, but Lexaeus shushed her. 

“It’s my fault. I must’ve been squeezing too hard,” he said. Xemnas nodded along, as Lexaeus was known for occasionally forgetting his strength. Xigbar, not surprisingly, was howling with laughter. 

As Lexaeus went to go clean himself up, Riku placed the other half of his bun on his burger, indicating he was ready to eat. Vanitas was very careful not to watch, though he was so very tempted to. Still, he’d heard plenty of lectures on not giving in to temptation from Luxord, so he persevered. 

“Wow, this is a good burger,” Riku said. “The flavor’s a little unusual, but it’s pretty good. How’d you get it so sweet?” 

Unbelievable. The one flaw in the burger plan was that Riku might not get the sweetened one. They had successfully given him the one they’d wanted him to get, and yet he still liked it. If Riku had such strange tastes, Vanitas wondered how he could have ever liked Riku. 

“I guess there’s more damp towels that’ll need to be washed,” Ephemer said quietly. 

Vanitas set his jaw and tried not to shove Ephemer’s dinner down his throat. 

* * *

“Okay, they’re watching the next movie, so it’s time for phase three,” Vanitas said. 

“Right,” Ephemer said. “Only Mommy’s probably gonna come pick me up soon.” 

“Not to worry. I actually called her a while ago. Or rather, Sora did. And he asked if you could stay the night and she said yes so she’ll just be bringing over your pajamas and toothbrush.” 

“Sora did?” 

“Okay, it was me pretending to be Sora. But if I called as myself Xion would get really suspicious.” 

“Yeah, she’d think you were trying to kill me or something,” Ephemer agreed. 

“Yeah yeah. Shut up.” 

Vanitas went down the stairs, ready for his part. So what if his whoopee cushion had a hole in the side that had caused it not to work? So what if Riku had liked his sweetened hamburger? So what if the mustard had exploded on Lexaeus and not Riku? He was not giving up so easily. 

As expected, Sora and Riku were watching that new horror movie. Perfect. That meant that Ephemer’s part wouldn’t be in vain. Vanitas, meanwhile, slipped a piece of tape onto the end of the remote, covering the sensor bar. There were two things you could count on when watching horror movies with Riku. One was that he would at some point get up to use the bathroom. The other was that at high-suspense moments, Riku would ask to pause so that he could take a minute to compose himself before the big scares. 

Soon enough, Riku asked for Sora to pause the movie. The dvd player didn’t respond. 

“Here, I’ll get it,” Vanitas offered, starting to stand. 

“No, no. That’s alright. It’s nothing important,” Riku said. In the dark, Vanitas could grin freely. Of course Riku didn’t want any favors from him, any more than he wanted to admit that he needed to use the bathroom. 

They made it farther in the movie and the tension was building. There was a small whimper from Riku, and then Vanitas felt something grab his hand. Riku. Back in the day, Vanitas would let Riku squeeze his hand during the scary parts. It seemed that habit had yet to die. 

“Should I take that as an invitation?” Vanitas asked teasingly, though really he wanted to spit in Riku’s face or chop off his hand. Riku had broken up with him after all. Riku had broken his heart and hung him out to dry and left him utterly miserable and how dare he grab his hand as if none of that had happened, especially when he had some skanky little girlfriend to return to? 

Riku snatched his hand back. 

“Sod off,” Riku muttered. 

“Fine,” Vanitas said. It actually was fine, as it gave him a chance to see if Ephemer had succeeded. 

“So? Did you find it?” Vanitas asked. Ephemer nodded. 

“Perfect.” 

From downstairs they heard a scream, and Vanitas’s grin widened. That would be the sound of Riku freaking out, and maybe even wetting his pants. 

* * *

It had been a near thing, when that clown had popped up like that. Riku had almost lost control of his bladder, but luckily he held it in. At that point, he didn’t care if the movie was paused or not, and made a beeline for the bathroom. 

The rest of the movie passed peacefully enough. Though Riku didn’t think he’d ever again be able to listen to that song the girl sang without getting shivers down his spine. 

As he and Sora got ready for bed, Riku couldn’t help but think about Vanitas. It was odd how Vanitas could be so normal around him, when Riku felt like any second he could have a panic attack being around Vanitas like this. Vanitas was so very odd. 

Yes, odd was certainly the word for it, Riku realized. Because how many times had he heard Vanitas complain about little Ephemer, claiming the amount of evil within that child was only exceeded by that of their grandpa Xehanort, and yet at dinner Vanitas was calmly helping Ephemer with his dinner, and without any death threats involved. That was abnormal, unusual, bizarre, curious, peculiar, strange, weird, whatever synonym you wanted to use, but it was fishy. Riku would need to keep his eyes peeled. 

Sure enough, when Riku went to bed, he found legos under the sheets. That would have been rather uncomfortable. He also woke up to find a bowl of warm water beside his bed, and was glad that he tossed and turned a lot in his sleep because otherwise he might have actually wet himself this time. 

And then he heard the music. It was soft, so soft that he almost thought he’d imagined it. But it was the song. And even if it was Vanitas playing tricks on him, Riku couldn’t convince himself that there was nothing to fear. The song ended, but Riku remained frozen in terror for nearly an hour after that, only managing to relax after jumping out of his skin when Sora got up to use the bathroom. 

The next morning, Riku was exhausted. Vanitas, on the other hand, looked as fresh as ever. They all sat down to eat together, Riku, Vanitas, Sora, and Ephemer. Riku carefully sniffed his orange juice, but it seemed like it was the real deal and not cheese powder mixed with water. 

When they ran out of milk, Sora got up to get the next gallon from the fridge. 

“You’re a jerk, you know that,” Riku said. 

“Takes one to know one, jerk,” Vanitas said. Riku might have continued, but Ephemer was watching, and Sora was coming back. Another time perhaps. 

* * *

Ephemer sighed. 

“None of it worked,” he said glumly. 

“Maybe not, but we still made him mad,” Vanitas said. Even as young as he was, Ephemer could tell his brother was trying to be cheerful when he himself was feeling tired. 

Ephemer eyed Vanitas. He really didn’t like Vanitas. He hogged Sora a lot, and was kinda mean, and he did things that Mommy and Daddy said you weren’t supposed to. But he supposed Vanitas did try to be nice to him sometimes, and Vanitas did care a lot about Sora, though of course not as much as Ephemer did. 

As his mom’s car pulled up outside, Ephemer grabbed his backpack. 

“Well he’s gone now,” Ephemer said. “And by the way, you still stink.” 

As Vanitas’s eyes narrowed and he dug his nails into his opposite arm, Ephemer stuck his tongue out and fled outside. It was time to go home.


	20. Vexen Wins: Age - 19

Vexen hummed to himself as he started to pull items out of the fridge for breakfast. As he did this both Ventus and Vanitas entered the kitchen with sleepy good mornings. 

“Morning, boys.” Vexen greeted, looking up from the pan. He was surprised to see Ventus wearing one of Vanitas old shirts from high school. But he figured that Ven had merely forgotten PJs and had borrowed what was available. “How would you like your eggs?” 

“An omelet please.” Vanitas requested. 

“I’ll have the same please.” Ven said and the two boys seated themselves at the table next to each other. 

With a nod Vexen cracked a few eggs in a bowl and beat them, then poured some of the mixture into a pan. “Is Sora not awake yet?” he asked. 

“Sora was still asleep when we checked in on him.” Ventus answered. “He was up pretty late texting Kairi.” 

Something about Ven’s first sentence seemed off to Vexen and caused him to frown slightly as he started adding vegetables to the omelet. Hadn’t all three of the boys slept in the same room? Vexen shook off the thought and finished making eggs. He handed the first omelet to Ventus, who waited until Vanitas had his before he started eating. Vexen then made his own, sunny-side up with toast, and sat at the table across from the boys. He settled in with the crossword, pleased to see that Marluxia had not gotten to it and filled it in with his nonsense. 

Vexen was absently nibbling on his toast and trying to come up with a six-letter word for Ho-Hum attitude when Ventus got up to put his plate in the sink. 

“I’ve gotta head out.” He explained. “Dad and I are meeting up with Terra today.” Then, as he passed by Vanitas on his way out the door Ven leaned down and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. 

Vexen started to choke on his toast. When had those two gotten so close?! He thought they hated each other?! His choking had kept him from hearing Vanitas’s response, but he didn’t miss the faint blush that graced his son’s cheeks at Ventus’s action. Vexen knew he tended to be oblivious in things that went on in the twins’ life, but why hadn’t any of the other Yakuza 13 members informed him that Vanitas was dating Ven? Sure they had all given up on keeping track of who Vanitas dated since he tended to go through significant others quickly. As soon as they found out about one, he would be dating another. But one of the twins dating a child of Eraqus’s should have been a big deal. Well, he knew now, so he would just finish eating his breakfast and ask the others later. 

As soon as Marluxia came back from his hair appointment, Vexen pounced. 

“Why didn’t anyone tell me Vanitas was dating Ventus?” he accused. 

Marluxia paused in shock, resisting the urge to knock Vexen out, then brushed past him to grab a pair of clippers from the closet. “What are you talking about?” he responded. “I highly doubt Ventus would concede to be Vanitas’s boyfriend after all the pranks our son had pulled on the poor boy.” Once Marluxia found the clippers he headed outside to trim the rosebushes, hoping Vexen wouldn’t follow him. The medic could be rather annoying when he had an idea in his head. 

Unfortunately for Marluxia, Vexen wouldn’t let it go with just that. 

“If they aren’t dating, then why did I see Ventus kiss Vanitas’s cheek?” Vexen demanded. 

Marluxia raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “Are you sure it wasn’t your imagination?” he said as he passed under the shade of the basswood along the side of the house. 

“I’m sure of it!” Vexen claimed, following Marluxia to the bushes that separated the back of their property from their neighbors. “I even saw Vanitas blush!” 

“What are you talking about?” Axel called from where he was sunbathing in the backyard. “Vanitas never blushes.” 

Marluxia waved his hand dismissively, “Oh, Vexen claims he saw Ventus kiss Vanitas willingly.” 

“What?” Axel exclaimed. “You’ve been working too many hours in your lab, there’s no way that would happen.” 

“I’m telling you it’s true! Vanitas and Ventus are dating!” Vexen fumed. “How can I prove it to you?” 

“You can’t” Axel said, “Because its not true.” 

“Why won’t you believe me?” Vexen demanded 

“Because,” Marluxia stated, trimming a wilting rose, “You’re the densest out of all of us. What makes you think that you would notice a budding romance happening between Vanitas and Ventus before the rest us?” 

“Fine!” Vexen yelled. “I see how it is. Just don’t come crying to me when you don’t find out they're seeing each other until they get married!” And then he stomped off. 

“And don’t think you can pay Vanitas to claim he’s dating Ven either!” Axel called after him. “Trust me! It isn’t worth it!” 

* * *

Vexen was quietly furious for the next few days. Despite not wanting to admit it, both Marluxia and Axel were right. None of the other parents would believe him because he was always slow on the uptake when it came to romance in their sons’ lives. He hadn’t known Vanitas was dating Riku until he had overheard Demyx mentioning that Vanitas had changed his relationship status on that weird facebook thing. And Roxas had to explain to him that Sora and Kairi had been dating for a month after he had made an off-hand comment about how much time the two were spending together. He couldn’t just talk to Vanitas about it and have him confess what was going on to the other Yakuza members, because then they would think Vexen had just bribed him. 

After having these thoughts whirling through his head on loop, Vexen quietly gave up. They only way the other parents would believe the two were dating is if they saw it for themselves. So until that day, he would hold onto his ‘I told you so’s.’ 

The Yakuza’s medic didn’t have much longer to wait. The following week there was a movie night and Ventus was there. Whether he had been invited or just happened to show up was a question the parents had, but they merely accepted the extra person in their home. 

In the hustle to claim snacks and good spots, no one had noticed that Vanitas and Ven had squished themselves onto the love seat next to Sora who had Ephemer in his lap. It wasn’t until the lights came on after the final movie that the parents noticed the pair curled into each other, fast asleep. 

One by one the various parents stopped their cleaning to stare in shock at the couple. All except Vexen who was muttering such things under his breath like “Densest one in the group huh?” and “See if you don’t believe me next time.” Who’s to say how long they would have stood there if Sora hadn’t come back from tucking Ephemer into bed. 

“What’s everybody just standing around for?” Sora asked. 

Xaldin pointed a finger at the sleeping pair. “Did you know about this?” 

Sora rolled his eyes. “Duh. They’ve been dating for two months now, but it was obvious they were going to hook up way before that.” 

Demyx gave a small. “Oh.” 

“Didn’t you guys know?” Sora asked. 

There was silent collection of head-shaking. 

“Huh.” Sora went over to Vanitas and started to shake him awake. “Hey Vanitas, wake up.” 

“Go ‘way Sora.” Vanitas said, using the arm that wasn’t behind Ven to push him away. 

Sora didn’t give up. “Come on, Van. Did you not tell the ‘rents that you and Ven are dating?” 

Woken up from the commotion, Ven yawned and pulled away from Vanitas to stretch. “Didn’t you say you told them weeks ago?” he murmured sleepily. 

No longer having Ven’s weight against him Vanitas slouched down against the couch. “I may have forgot.” He muttered. “I thought you guys figured it out. It’s not like we were trying to hide it or anything.” 

At this point Vexen couldn’t contain his smugness anymore, “I told you so!” He cried and pointed at Marluxia. “I told you they were dating and you didn’t believe me! One point to Vexen!” 

“And how many points towards Marluxia?” Lexaeus said under his breath. 

Vanitas rolled his eyes and stood up, pulling Ven with him. “Well if we’re done here, I’m going to spend some quality time with my boyfriend.” He said, than winked at his parents and headed out of the room, dragging a sleepy Ven by the hand. 

“Van, no! You said you wouldn’t!” Sora complained, trailing after them. 

The parents stood in silence for a few moments more until Roxas finally broke it, “So, Ventus huh? He’ll be good for Vanitas.” 

Xion reached out to hold Roxas’s hand. “Yeah, he will.” 

There was a general murmur of agreement and the Yakuza members went back to cleaning the room.


	21. The Yakuza 13 and Sora: Age - 19

Sora had had just about enough. He’d put up with a lot over the years. Like that prom incident. God that had been embarrassing. 

Sora silently apologized to God for misusing his name like that. Luxord would have scolded him for it. 

But that was only one of the many grievances Sora had with his unusual parentage. 

Back when he’d gotten his second part time job, working as a sales clerk at Moogle’s, all his parents had suddenly started shopping there. His parents had ordered things online or sent underlings to do their shopping for as long as he could remember. So he’d been quite surprised when he was training and turned around after a tap on the shoulder to find Demyx innocently asking where he could find the music department. Only an hour later, he was pointing Axel to the bathrooms. The next day Saix needed his help in the office supplies department, and the day after that Xaldin and Lexaeus were purchasing equipment for the Yakuza 13’s gym, and despite the fact that they could each lift a sofa large enough to hold three people on their own, they somehow needed assistance getting the 100lbs worth of barbell weights to Xaldin’s car, right when Sora was the nearest available personnel member. Every day he’d worked there, at least one of the parents had shown up. He’d finally quit because he couldn’t bear it. 

He’d also been fired because of the parents, since they’d scared off a lot of business when he worked at the pizza parlor. And he had been banned from his favorite coffee shop, since his parents were liable to show up at the same times as him “by coincidence”. Since then he made sure he visited a variety of coffee shops, even though some of them had horrible coffee or dreadful scones. It didn’t stop him from bumping into his parents (“Sora! Fancy seeing you here. How funny, I was just getting some coffee too!”), but it meant that people didn’t get scared by the frequency of Yakuza 13 bosses being around. Also it was satisfying when his parents had to deal with bad coffee as well. He’d even managed to force bad coffee on Xemnas once, and the look on his father’s face when he tasted the weak, grainy coffee of that particular shop had been priceless. It had also curdled the creamer (though maybe the creamer had been bad to begin with). 

There was also the time Sora had gotten a gym membership. Sure, the Yakuza 13 had a gym in the main building for all its members, but Sora wasn’t technically a member, and also he hated the way a lot of the members bowed whenever they saw him because of his parents. He didn’t like interrupting everyone’s workouts simply because he walked into the room. Also, they all seemed to think they were his personal trainers and would stand around cheering him on or giving him tips and telling him what he was doing wrong, which was annoying. So he’d gone out and gotten a membership at a nearby fitness center. Unfortunately, he’d had to use his card to pay for fees, and Xaldin had noticed. When Sora showed up for his first workout, not only were all the parents there, working out, but they’d brought a horde of underlings with them, so that every last machine was taken. The staff had been standing by fearfully, and it was pretty clear that Yakuza 13 had effectively kicked out all the other gym-goers. It was a nightmare. 

Or what about when Sora and Vanitas had gone to states for track? They’d been sitting on the bus, driving down the highway, when Sora had noticed the fleet of cars surrounding their bus, maintaining the same speed, and keeping any other cars from getting close. There was even a limo, which Sora had instantly known contained the parents, even if he couldn’t see through the tinted windows. And since they were staying in a hotel overnight, he hadn’t been surprised to find that all the other guests at the hotel were Yakuza 13 members. It was ridiculous. And on another occasion, he’d taken a road trip with Kairi to go visit her grandmother, who lived pretty far away. Kairi had wanted him to meet her grandmother, whom she adored and whose opinion mattered to her above all others. They’d decided to drive cross country, taking stops at all the popular tourist destinations. Kairi had been surprised when looking through the pictures they’d taken, since almost every shot had at least one of Sora’s parents photobombing, either intentionally or accidentally. Sora hadn’t been surprised, since he’s known they were there the whole time, which was why he wasn’t smiling in a lot of the photos. Luckily Kairi hadn’t been phased by it, thanks to previous incidents, such as prom. 

And there were many more things. Like how he and Vanitas had been kicked out of sports and schools because of their parents. And no one else he knew had ever heard of ChannuChirstKwanMidwinterNewyearSnowmanmas. And he had to be careful talking about his parents, since people tended to avoid him when he mentioned having multiple dads and then mentioned having moms as well, and then they wanted him to explain and if he did, that was the end of things. People were scared of a child raised by the Yakuza 13. And now that he was older, they assumed he was a part of his parents’ gang. 

And then yesterday had happened. Sora was already a sophomore in college, and 19 years old. He was old enough that he didn’t need parents hovering over him anymore, particularly not such problematic parents as he had. Yet yesterday when he’d gone to the mall to buy a present for Kairi for their anniversary, his parents had shown up in every store he’d tried, and had all given him gift suggestions, some of which had actually been helpful, but all of which had been completely unsolicited. This was a present from him, not them! He was so sick of it all! 

The worst part of it was, no one else seemed to get it. Vanitas, his twin and best friend, didn’t seem to mind. On the bus to states for instance, Sora had pointed out their escort, and Vanitas had shrugged and continued playing Thunder Sigil: Destinies on his portable game system. And Kairi always seemed to find it funny. She’d even sent copies of their road trip photos to the parents, and had even cropped the two of them out of one with Axel jumping on Saix’s back in the background and had framed it. As for his “cousins” Terra, Aqua, and Ventus, well... Aqua had gone and gotten engaged to Zexion, so she apparently didn’t mind dealing with the antics of the Yakuza 13’s upper echelons. And Terra didn’t quite get that things were a little different if you were actually the child of the Yakuza 13 rather than their lawyer’s kid, head honcho’s cousin, and nephew of the newest brass. Meanwhile Ventus had spent years suffering such humiliations from Vanitas that to him, overly involved parents didn’t seem so bad. And like Kairi, as the significant other of a Yakuza 13 child, he found it amusing too. 

Sora was supposed to pick up Kairi for a date in an hour. He was supposed to be getting ready for their anniversary date, not fuming about his parents. But even as he gelled his hair, got dressed, and went to pick up the flowers he’d ordered, he was still bothered by them. It was only as he headed over to Kairi’s place that he finally began to concentrate on their upcoming date. Had he remembered her present? Yes, it was in the cup holder, next to his phone and wallet. And that meant he hadn’t forgotten his phone or wallet either. Good. He’d picked up the flowers. Had he mistakenly put on old and dirty underwear? No, he’d done laundry earlier and had gotten the pair he was wearing fresh from the dryer. He had never actually worn dirty underwear, but he was still convinced it would happen someday and be super humiliating. Speaking of humiliation, had he remembered to put on deodorant? Crap. He wasn’t sure. Well at least he’d remembered the cologne that Kairi liked so much. If he’d forgotten deodorant, maybe the cologne would mask the smell. Did it work that way? Ugh. At least he didn’t have to worry about shaving. Neither he nor Vanitas was capable of growing a beard. He’d tried once, and had even decided on a goatee, but it hadn’t really worked. Which was fine because Kairi had mentioned recently that she thought beards were a turnoff, especially goatees. 

When he arrived to pick her up, Kairi looked fabulous, as usual. It wasn’t just that she could make anything look good; she was really stylish. Though maybe that was just Sora’s opinion. Vanitas would groan any time he said things like that. Then again, Kairi did bear enough resemblance to Namine, the girl Riku had broken up with Vanitas for, that of course Vanitas held it against her, even if he’d known Kairi since long before Namine showed up and even if he was supposedly over Riku by now. So if Vanitas didn’t see Kairi the way Sora did, so what? Besides, the last thing Sora wanted or needed was his twin flirting with his girlfriend. 

Everything seemed to be going fine. They reached the restaurant and were seated. They placed their orders, and then Sora took a deep breath. Time to give her the present. It was a charm bracelet, with a few charms he’d picked out for her. A heart, a key, and a crown. Because she was the queen with the key to his heart. Okay, it was lame but he couldn’t think of anything better. Sora took a deep breath. 

“So Kairi, today’s our anniversary, and-” 

“Oh my god Sora, it’s your anniversary?” That voice was all too familiar. Sora turned slowly, and saw Demyx in a waiter’s uniform behind him. A tall man in a manager’s outfit put Demyx in a headlock and hissed at him in Marluxia’s voice “you idiot! You’re supposed to keep quiet!” Yet another waiter, Xaldin this time, shoved them both aside. 

“Sorry about that. Do carry on,” he said, and dragged the other two away. Sora didn’t need to look around to see that the rest of the wait staff had been replaced by other parents. He was also sure that if he looked closely, he’d recognize the other diners as Yakuza 13 underlings, with maybe some more parents mixed in, and if he went to the kitchen he’d find Vexen running the show with Lexaeus preparing a cake or pastry of some kind for dessert. 

Sora slammed his hands palm down on the table, rising to his feet at the same time. 

“That. Is. ENOUGH!” he shouted. 

“Sora, calm down. It’s not that big a deal,” Kairi said. Sora ignored her. 

“I have had it up to here with you guys interfering in every little thing I do! You make a mess of everything! It’s bad enough that you do that with your work, but you also do it to me, and it’s ruining my life! Can’t you guys just leave me alone! I mean, this is my anniversary! Me and Kairi! Not you!” 

“Sora, we just-” Aqua began, coming over from where she’d been sitting with her fiance. 

“Aqua, don’t. Just because you have your perfect little relationship and live in a bubble of happiness doesn’t mean the rest of us are on cloud nine with you. You just don’t get it.” He’d hurt her feelings; he could see it both from the look on her face and the death glare he was getting from Zexion. As a kid, that glare would have sent chills down his spine and been enough to have him running to Luxord for confession of every perceived bad thing he’d done, whether it be farting or talking without raising his hand first or calling his brother a meanie. But right now it just made him want to give the same glare right back at his dad, and at all his other parents. 

“Come on Kairi, we’re leaving,” he said. He offered her a hand, which thankfully she took, and the two of them wove through the silent restaurant. As they passed the kitchen doors, Vexen burst through them, mouth open to call something out, but the atmosphere silenced him as well. 

Once in the car, Kairi finally tried to talk to him. 

“Sora, your parents are just trying to show they love you. They do things like that because they care.” 

“Yeah, because making me miserable is very loving of them.” 

“They’re not trying to make you miserable, they’re just trying to look out for you.” 

“Well I don’t want them to look out for me, since their version of looking out for me only brings on chaos. I can’t deal with them anymore, Kairi. I just can’t.” 

If Sora was crying as he drove her home, Kairi chose not to say anything. Better to just let him be. 

* * *

After the members of Yakuza 13 left the restaurant, the heads had an emergency meeting. 

“Do you think we went too far?” Roxas asked quietly. 

“Nonsense. He’s just embarrassed or something,” Luxord said. It might have been more convincing if he hadn’t been fingering his rosary. 

“Maybe we should have told him rather than make it a surprise,” Saix suggested. 

“Guys, I think he was hoping for just a private evening,” Xion said. 

“I’m sure he’ll get over it,” Xemnas said confidently. Even Demyx realized the gravity of the situation, but Xemnas had never gotten close enough to really understand the twins, so he didn’t get that Sora was really upset. 

“Yeah, let’s hope for that,” Xigbar said, and the meeting was adjourned. 

* * *

The worst part was that it was winter break, meaning Sora was stuck at home for the holidays. He might have tried to go visit his cousins, but with Vanitas and Ventus dating that meant Ven came over just about every day, and Aqua was living with Zexion, and Terra was abroad with his girlfriend. He could just go to see uncle Eraqus, but that seemed a little awkward to chill with his uncle simply because he didn’t want to be home. 

Today it was Larxene and Lexaeus’s turn to parent, though Xaldin and Marluxia had also come over for some of Lexaeus’s homemade hot cocoa and coffee cake. 

“Sora, Vanitas, come out and have some cocoa,” Larxene said, sticking her head into their room. Ventus wasn’t over at the moment, since he was out Christmas shopping for Vanitas’s present, and had managed to blackmail Vanitas into not following him to find out what he was getting. 

“I’d rather not right now. Cocoa makes me sleepy and I’m in the middle of a boss battle,” Vanitas said from where he was playing video games. Sora didn’t respond. 

“Sora, what about you. You coming?” 

Sora remained silent. 

“Earth to Sora. Come on you little twerp. Hot cocoa,” Larxene said, walking over and pulling the pillow Sora was leaning against out from under him to whack him with it. Sora closed his book. 

“Vanitas, would you be so kind as to inform this person that I am not speaking to her, and she is not welcome here?” 

“What?” Larxene protested. 

“Sure thing, bro. Lady, Sora says he’s giving you the silent treatment and doesn’t want you around.” 

“I can hear him just fine, Vanitas.” 

“She says she can hear you, Sora.” 

“I don’t care,” Sora said, opening his book again and trying to find his spot. 

“Why is he being such a brat?” Larxene asked Vanitas. 

“Because of the other day when you ruined his date. He’s… how should I put it… oh yeah. Totally pissed. Or perhaps absolutely furious would work better. Enraged beyond all reason? Yeah, basically, you guys really screwed up. Just saying.” 

“That’s ridiculous. Sora! Hey, Sora!” 

Sora sighed and reached for his mp3 player, placing the headphones he’d gotten from his friend Neku over his ears and turning on the first playlist he scrolled to. 

Larxene might have ripped the headphones off his head and thrown them out into the snow, but Lexaeus came up just then. 

“Are you guys coming?” he asked, placing a hand rather low on Larxene’s waist. 

“Vanitas said he doesn’t want any right now,” Larxene sighed. In an angrier tone she added “and Sora is apparently not talking to me.” 

“Correction, I think he meant he’s not talking to you plural. As in any of you, our parents,” Vanitas piped up. 

“What? But we’re his parents,” Lexaeus said. 

“At the moment, he’d rather you weren’t.” Vanitas’s phone dinged, and he paused his game to look at it. “And I’ve got someplace to be now. See ya. Oh, and if I were you, I’d leave Sora alone. Word of advice.” Vanitas grabbed his coat, gave an ironic salute, and pushed past the parents to head out the door. 

Lexaeus and Larxene did end up leaving Sora alone, but they weren’t happy about it. None of the parents were. 

* * *

“Just WHAT is with that boy’s attitude!” Xemnas exclaimed, entering the den after failing to coax Sora downstairs for movie night. Vanitas hadn’t come down either, but that was a bit more understandable since he was outside making a snow fort with Ventus. 

“He’s mad at us,” Axel said, feeding a piece of popcorn to Saix. 

“It is still inexcusable!” 

“I agree,” Luxord commented. “He’s clearly overreacting.” 

“According to parenting forums, this is normal. Many teenagers go through a period of disharmony with their parents. Like we saw with Terra. Sora’s is a bit late, but he’s always been a bit behind on the mood-swing agenda,” Saix said. 

“No one cares about your bloody forums,” Larxene snapped. 

“He’s being rude,” Lexaeus grumbled. 

“He still hasn’t apologized to Aqua for making her cry,” Zexion muttered. 

“Well maybe we should apologize to him first,” Xion suggested. “He feels like we’re being a pain.” 

“But we’re not even doing anything that weird!” Demyx cried. The other members agreed. Sora’s sudden anger with them was quite perplexing. He’d never had a problem with them being around before. And Saix’s forums and the guide books he’d bought so long ago all claimed that parents should be supportive of their children. So why was it making Sora angry? 

“Maybe it’s less what we’re doing and more because it’s us doing it,” Roxas said quietly. “Like it would be fine if we were normal parents, but we’re Yakuza 13, and that just makes it uncomfortable for him.” 

“Well we can’t do anything to change that,” Marluxia said acidly, rolling his eyes for extra dramatic effect. He really should have been an actor, not an arms dealer. 

“Not unless we dissolve the group,” Xaldin said, meaning to agree. 

“You want to break up the gang? But we’re like family!” Vexen exclaimed, misinterpreting what Xaldin had meant. 

“What? No. That’s impossible. We are, and always will be Yakuza 13,” Xaldin insisted. Vexen sat back with a sigh of relief. As the impromptu meeting continued, nothing productive was said. None of them had any ideas how to deal with it other than Larxene’s suggestion that they hang him by the toenails which was deemed too extreme, and also Larxene was always suggesting that punishment but had yet to ever actually use it on anyone. In the end, none of them was in the mood for movies, and so all but the parents of the night returned to their homes. Xemnas however, remained lost in thought. Would they always be the Yakuza 13? 

* * *

“Sora, I can’t believe you’re still not talking to them,” Kairi said, stapling another link in the paper chain they were making to decorate the homeless shelter where she volunteered. 

Sora sighed. He’d explained it several times, but Kairi still insisted he was being unreasonable towards his parents. But was it so unreasonable to get tired of them following him around and making any semblance of normalcy impossible? It wasn’t like they wanted him to inherit the gang from them or anything. They’d tried taking him on ride-alongs before, and it never went well. The first one he’d almost wet his pants and had ended up witnessing two of his dads kissing, which had been super embarrassing. After that he’d gotten Vanitas to take his place whenever he could, since Vanitas didn’t find it scary if shooting or a fight broke out. Also, Sora had proven to have horrible aim when they’d tried to teach him to shoot, and he couldn’t seem to handle the recoil at all. He also had no poker face to speak of, and when playing bs he got caught on every lie. He was just hopeless at anything criminal, really. The parents had long since given up on him ever joining their gang. So why did they follow him as if they had high expectations of him? 

“I agree with her,” Vanitas said, coming over from where he’d been painting Christmas ornaments. 

“Well what am I supposed to do? I’ve tried talking to them about it, but they just don’t get it. Like when I told them to stop bugging me when I was working at Moogle’s, they were all like ‘what, we can’t shop here?’ and at Coffee, Toffee, and Me, they refused to give up the pretense that they were there by coincidence. No matter what I say, they act all innocent, and it drives me nuts. If I have to cut them out of my life completely to get them to stop, then so be it.” 

“Sora, you can’t mean you’re actually going to cut them out,” Kairi gasped. 

“I do mean it. If they can’t give me room to breathe, I will make it myself.” 

“But… what about the rest of us?” Ventus asked, coming over with drinks for them all. “What about Vanitas? And me and Aqua and Terra and dad? If you cut them out, won’t you have to cut us out too?” 

“I-if that’s… what it takes,” Sora said hesitantly. Vanitas didn’t say anything and he took his drink and found a spot in the corner to sit. Ventus joined him there and began rubbing his shoulders, recognizing that Vanitas was upset. Vanitas brooded over what had just been said. Sora couldn’t possibly do that, could he? These were their parents they were talking about. And there was no way he’d stop talking to his twin, right? They were closer than that. Sure, Vanitas had Ven now, but for years Sora had been the only other person he’d needed. They complimented each other, like yin and yang or peanut butter and jelly. And after Riku… he really didn’t want to be left behind again. 

Vanitas had never snitched on Sora before. Tattling was one thing you could count on him never to do. But he had to tell their parents about this. Because if he didn’t betray his twin now, he’d be the one getting burned in the end. 

* * *

Xaldin was enjoying an afternoon playing pinball on the computer when Vanitas came in. Vanitas didn’t say anything, and Xaldin found this immensely distracting. If Vanitas had something to say, he should just say it! And if he didn’t have anything to say, then he could bloody well stand around elsewhere! Needless to say, Xaldin was not getting any high scores. 

Finally, Xaldin gave up with a sigh. He spun around in his chair to face the boy- young man these days- that he’d helped to raise. 

“Is there some kind of problem, Vanitas? You know if you’re having boyfriend troubles, I’m really not the one to talk to. Call up Saix or Axel.” 

“It’s not about me and Ven, Pop.” It had been a while since Vanitas had called Xaldin Pop. He still occasionally referred to some of the parents by the old nicknames he and Sora had been taught to use during childhood, but for the most part Vanitas called them all by name anymore. 

“Vanny, what’s wrong?” Xaldin said more gently. 

“You guys have a meeting tomorrow, right? Can I come? There’s… something I need to say. And you all need to hear it.” 

“Is this like the time you came out?” Xaldin asked with a smile. 

“No. This isn’t anything like that. It’s serious.” Vanitas conveniently forgot that at the time of his coming out, announcing he was pansexual had seemed serious too. What a difference a few years had made. 

“I see,” Xaldin said gravely. “I’ll call Lexaeus and ask him to bring you along.” 

“Thanks.” 

* * *

Vanitas’s news at the meeting was initially met with an uproar. 

“Sora is thinking about severing ties with you.” It was a simple statement, but one that led to much shouting. 

“The ungrateful little punk!” Lexaeus roared, seeming more like a bear than a man. 

“He can’t do that! We’re his parents!” Demyx protested. 

“Where did we go wrong?” Axel sobbed. 

“Why would he do that?” Roxas asked, clearly wounded. 

“I did not put up with his smelly diapers just so he could do this to us!” Larxene shouted. 

Xemnas waited until most of the death threats had faded and there was more crying than violent gestures, and then called for silence. 

“Vanitas, would you care to enlighten us as to why?” 

“We all know why. It’s because he’s being rebellious!” Luxord called out. 

“That’s not it,” Vanitas replied shaking his head. “Sora… he loves you guys, really, it’s just he feels like you go too far. When you guys try to support us, you go all out. I don’t mind, really, but to him it’s kind of invasive. Rather than being with him all the time, he’d rather you be his place to return to. And, come one guys, Sora and I aren’t going to live here forever. We’re growing up.” 

“So you resent us too, then?” Xaldin asked quietly. 

“Nah. It’s no big deal to me. I’m proud you guys are my parents. I mean, having a whole gang as my moms and dads? That’s pretty cool if you ask me. But you know Sora. He just doesn’t have the heart for violence or criminal activity. And that’s what you stand for in most people’s eyes, and so they project it onto him, which is rough. It’s not that he isn’t proud of you guys too, it’s just he feels that the impact of being publicly associated with you is detrimental.” 

“In other words, he’s mad at us because we’re the Yakuza 13 first and his parents second. At least, to others’ eyes,” Saix murmured, patting the back of the still-sobbing Axel. 

“Kinda, yeah.” 

“But how do we change that?” Xion asked. “The damage is already done. People know Sora’s our son, and there’s nothing we can do about it.” 

“We can threaten people saying they shouldn’t judge him for it,” Demyx suggested brightly. 

“But that will just make them judge him more,” Marluxia pointed out. 

“Well Vanitas is saying that it’s in public that Sora’s bothered by us, so we just stop seeing him outside of home,” Roxas said. 

“Except even at home, he won’t talk to us anymore,” Axel sniffed. 

“Well we could apologize,” Xion said. “It may not fix things right off the bat, but it’s a start, right?” 

* * *

There was an envelope on Sora’s bed when he got back from hanging out at Kairi’s. Even though they’d been dating for years, her parents still were adamant that he was not to stay overnight, meaning he could spend all day at her place avoiding his various parental units, but he still had to come home in the evening, no matter how distasteful the prospect. 

Sora thought about ignoring the envelope. Maybe he’d just throw it away. Rip it to pieces. Throw it in the fireplace. But it might be something worth looking at. 

He opened it and pulled out a thick piece of paper with fancy writing on it. “You’re invited” it said. 

“What a joke,” Sora said aloud, tossing the paper aside. But then his curiosity rose and he took another look. 

“Dearest son of ours, Sora. We, your parents, invite you to spend a quiet evening, just you and your girlfriend, no parents, siblings, cousins, or other unexpected attendees, at a private viewing of the ice sculpture exhibit at the Lake Hotel from 8:00-9:00PM next Saturday. Please accept this gift as an apology for being meddlesome, and know that we will try not to bother you so much in the future. Please RSVP via text message to Xemnas, or via word of mouth left with Ventus (your brother might not think to tell us). With all our love, your parents.” Each of his parents signatures was there. Also, at the very bottom was the postscript, “We would also appreciate it if you would resume communications with us, if it’s not too much to ask.” 

Sora wasn’t sure if he wanted to go along with this. But Kairi would like to view the ice sculptures, of that he was certain. He supposed he could take them up on the offer. That didn’t mean he would forgive them. Just because an apology was given did not mean everything was smoothed over. 

Sora called Kairi, and told her about the invitation, not mentioning that it was a forgiveness ploy. She readily agreed and he made a note to tell Ventus in the morning, since his brother’s boyfriend was probably staying over. 

* * *

Due to some unexpected snow that made driving conditions a bit hazardous and causing the need to go below the speed limit, Sora and Kairi did not arrive until 8:15. To get to the exhibit, one had to stop by the front desk, and the desk staff were waiting for them. 

“Hello, I’m here for-” Sora began, but was interrupted. 

“We know who you are. Right this way, sir, madame.” They were directed through a door and led outside to a horse-drawn sleigh. As Sora helped Kairi up into the carriage, another staff member came from the hotel bearing two mugs which turned out to contain hot cocoa. After they settled in and arranged a multitude of blankets that had been provided to keep them warm, Sora took a sip of his. It was good cocoa, but after years and years of Lexaeus’s homemade brew, it was a bit of a disappointment. 

The sleigh set off at a trot, but soon slowed to a walk as they approached the sculptures. Lights flickered on, adding a dazzling array of colors to the already beautiful ice. Combined with the falling snow and the sleigh and everything else, it felt a bit like being in another world, one with magic. Like in the books he read as a kid. They even passed an ice sculpture shaped like a key, and Sora felt certain that if he put a hand out he would be able to summon a key-shaped sword. He resisted the temptation though. 

He had to admit, it wasn’t just Kairi who had wanted to see the exhibit. It was definitely worth it. 

All too soon, the sleigh ride ended. With a small bit of regret, Sora and Kairi returned to the car. Except the car wouldn’t start. Feeling suspicious, Sora checked the engine. Kairi joined him, and as she actually knew a thing or two about cars, she was able to confirm that it hadn’t been tampered with, and was merely too cold to start. Apparently his parents hadn’t decided to help him out. But one couldn’t blame him for having his suspicions, since the entire family had heard about how Aqua and Zexion had started after her friends had left her at a party so she could hook up with Zack, and also about the time Aqua’s roommates had gotten it in their heads to “help” her progress in her relationship by deliberately locking her out of their apartment and pretending to not notice her calls so that she had to stay over at his place. He wouldn’t have put it past his parents to think of those stories and try and strand him so that he and Kairi could have their first time or something. 

It seemed their only option would be to stay at the hotel. As Sora checked out a suite for them, he hoped they would mistake his blushing as being a result of the cold. As he accepted the room keys, the concierge commented, “To be honest, sir, I am quite relieved you are staying here. The latest weather report said there’s a blizzard coming in, and it’s already dangerous to be driving.” 

Once at the room, Kairi called her parents. Sora pretended not to hear as she assured them that this mishap was not planned, and the car really wouldn’t start, and even if it would start did they really find it preferable for her to get killed in an accident than stay safe and warm but in the same building as her boyfriend who was really a perfectly decent guy and why did they still think he was so bad when he’d been over dozens of times and was always polite and, oh this was getting nowhere, she was hanging up. 

It wasn’t until Kairi was in the bathroom changing into pajamas provided by the hotel that he finally went ahead and made his call. Vanitas picked up on the first ring, which was surprising since Sora knew he had to be with Ven. 

“Sora! Are you okay?” 

“Hey, Vanitas. I’m fine.” 

“We heard there was a blizzard coming in, everyone’s really worried.” 

“Well they can stop worrying,” Sora said, his voice a little harsher than he meant it to be. “Kairi and I are staying at the hotel,” he added in a more normal voice. 

“Oh are you?” Vanitas asked in a suggestive tone. Sora was certain his twin was waggling his eyebrows at the moment. 

“Va-ni-tas,” he groaned. “Look, just tell them I’m doing fine, okay?” He’d said it simply to change the subject, and immediately regretted it. What if they took that to mean he wasn’t mad at them anymore? Sure it had been a nice evening, but he wasn’t going to let them buy their way out of this one. 

“Sure thing. Will do. Oh and Sora?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Have a nice night.” Sora could hear Vanitas laughing as the call ended. Typical. Trust his brother to not let things go. 

* * *

In the end they had to stay three days at the hotel. The calls from Kairi’s parents were awful, as Kairi had to constantly reassure her parents that yes she was fine and no she wasn’t going to have an abortion because why did they suddenly think she was pregnant, really they were being ridiculous. After the storm, the weather warmed up, so once the plows had cleared the roads, the engine was able to start and Sora was able to finally drive Kairi home. After her parents gave him the third degree, he was kicked out. Not knowing where else to go, he ended up going to a park. He was sitting on the swings when Vanitas found him there. 

“Before you accuse them of following you, I really did just happen to be passing by,” Vanitas said. 

“I forgot this park is between home and Uncle Eraqus’s,” Sora replied, acknowledging their parents’ innocence in this instance. 

“So what were you thinking about so intently? You seemed pretty lost in thought. Or were you just reminiscing on the good times you had with Kairi over the past few days?” 

“Um, no," Sora said flatly, then sighed and answered honestly. "I was just wondering what it would be like if I were a girl.” 

“Oh not this again," Vanitas groaned. "I am not dressing up in a skirt and letting guys flirt with me again.” 

“Vanitas, you’re dating a guy, in case you’ve forgotten. And you’re pan, so I thought you didn’t care?” 

“I care when people assume I’m a girl and start touching my butt without permission. Besides the guys who thought I was cute as a girl were all disgusting.” Sora chose not to remind Vanitas how he had dated Riku, who had been one of those guys. Even after almost a year, Vanitas still didn’t like his ex being brought up. If he had to hear anything about Riku, he tended to just pretend they had only ever been friends and had never dated. 

“Van, no. I meant like how girls’ parents get so crazy overprotective. Like Kairi’s parents seem convinced I’m going to eat her alive or, I don’t know, sacrifice her soul to Satan.” 

“That’s more my department, and that’s what you do to your enemies, not your lovers.” Sora glanced sidelong at his twin and shook his head. Even if they were twins and had a deep connection that had begun before birth, there were still times where he really couldn’t understand his brother. 

“Right. Well anyways, I was just wondering, would our parents be that way if I were a girl?” 

“Oh they’d probably be worse. They’d be threatening anyone who came to date you, keeping tabs on all the guys near you to make sure they aren’t going to take advantage of you or anything, they probably wouldn’t let you go anywhere without a team of their thugs looking menacing around you, stuff like that. And they wouldn’t let you stay out late or wear cute clothes, you would never have any friends and you’d be so sheltered it’d be ridiculous.” 

Sora shuddered. “Guess I’m glad I’m not a girl then. Having them be my parents when I’m a guy is bad enough.” 

“Yeah, they’re pretty embarrassing. Like how Luxord sings hymns in the shower and everything has to be explained to Xemnas and Marluxia’s floral boxers and basically everything Demyx. I could go on and on. But they’re not so bad.” 

Sora snorted, and Vanitas sighed. 

“I think they just have a harder time letting you go,” Vanitas said. “Like, I’ve never really been big on that touchy-feely stuff, so they’ve always let me have my space and be independent. But you, you’re their little boy. Like, yeah we’re both their sons, but even if we’re twins they see you as the baby. And everyone knows parents go the extra mile for the baby. You always wanted affection more, and let them hold your hand all the time, and now they don’t know how to stop doing it.” 

“But it’s not just them hanging around me now. They’ve always been getting too involved! Ever since we were little. It’s just so hard to live a normal life with them!” 

“Yeah, but as a kid you never told them you minded. And since you never told me, either, I’d say you didn’t mind. We had each other, and that was cool. It was only when we got older and you started having more friends and started losing them sometimes because of our parents that you started to see things from when we were kids as annoying.” It was true. When they were little, Sora had thought their parents’ crazy antics were cool. They were the best parents ever. But then he’d brought a friend home from school once, and the next day that kid started ignoring him because his parents were freaks, and after that he’d noticed that other people didn’t think his parents were so cool either, and that’s when they became such a burden. 

Vanitas let his twin ponder for a bit, twisting back and forth a little bit in the swing he’d perched on. Finally, he got up. 

“What do you say to a snowball fight?” 

Sora sighed. “How about we go home first. That way they can participate too.” 

Vanitas grinned. The two of them drove home, and when Xion spotted Sora’s car pulling into the driveway as well, she shrieked so loud even the neighbors heard. Sora found himself being bombarded with concerned parents, as no less than nine of them had been at the house. In the background, he could see Xigbar on the phone, doubtlessly calling the other five and probably Eraqus as well, and wiping tears from his eyes. As a matter of fact, almost all the parents were crying, they were that happy to see him home in one piece. And he’d been thinking about leaving them behind, without a word, for good? 

“I’m fine guys, really,” he said. He had to repeat it at a shout because there was so much noise they hadn’t heard him. At the sound of his voice they all went silent, meaning they all heard the next part, even though he wasn’t able to keep his voice raised for it. “And… I’m sorry. I love you guys.” 

If Sora had felt like the parents were trying to suffocate him before, which, really, he had because being in the center of a mob of concerned parents is not a good place to be if you want air, he felt like they were trying to squeeze him out of existence now. Roxas left the group to go wake Ephemer from his nap while Xigbar finished his calls and joined in the fray while Sora’s jerk of a twin watched in amusement. A car came screeching down the street, and even before it stopped Saix was pelting out and tackling him, clearly in his berserk mode. Despite having had to stop the car, Axel was only a breath behind him. Within another five minutes, the remaining three parents were also there, as well as Aqua, Eraqus, Terra, and Ven. 

Even after 19 years of having this odd family as neighbors, the other residents of the street found the scene a little less touching and a lot more annoying. However, many of them ended up joining in on the snowball fight, and when Lexaeus began whipping up batches of hot cocoa and cookies, well who could say no to that? 

That night, it didn’t matter whose turn it was to parent. They slept, all of them, every last member of the Yakuza 13’s upper echelons and Eraqus and his kids and Ephemer and the twins and even baby Mickey, in a giant blanket fort in the den of the home Sora and Vanitas had grown up in. As Sora drifted off, he knew he’d have to leave this place someday, but until then, he was going to treasure this: his twin, his little brothers, his cousins, his uncle, and most importantly, his fourteen wonderful parents, who loved him to death and beyond.


	22. Hosts: Age - 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Trigger Warnings:** Violence, mentions of violence, mentions of abusive relationships  
>  Basically, Fantasy has some dark history.  
> Also, sorry for the long chapter.

Vanitas was not thrilled when Sora burst into his room. Tidus must have let him into their apartment. Why did he room with that punk again? Oh yeah. Because if he convinced the parents to let him live alone Ventus would want to come over all the time. Unless, of course, Ven was too busy being pals with his new roommate best friend. But for now, his brother was here, and it was too late to prevent that. 

“Hey Vanitas!” Sora said cheerfully. Vanitas envied him. Lately, he’d been doubting a lot of things, and as such he didn’t have much cheer left in him it felt like. 

“Hey,” he replied, and resumed tying his shoes. 

“Are you going somewhere?” Sora asked. I thought you didn’t have class today.” 

“I don’t. I’m heading to work.” 

“Wait, you got a job? When?” 

“Seifer set it up for me. Today’s my first day.” 

“Really? Wow…” Sora was silent for a moment. “Do you know if there’s any more openings?” he asked. 

“Um, Sora, I’m going to be working with Seifer. At Fantasy.” 

“Yeah, so? Do they have any other openings? I’ve been looking for a job and it’d be cool to work together.” Vanitas was touched. Even when he was being gloomy and a loser and no one wanted to be around him, his twin didn’t seem to notice. Sora was like the sun for him whenever he was down. Maybe working together would be a good thing. Still, this job might be a little difficult for Sora. And also Sora might guess the real reason he was working there, which could get very awkward very fast. 

“Sora, you do realize that Fantasy is a host club, right?” 

“That’s what Aqua said.” 

“And do you know what hosts do?” 

“Aren’t they kind of like personal bartenders?” Vanitas almost had to shake his head at his brother's naivety. 

“They flirt with people. And get flirted with.” 

“Oh.” 

“Yeah. So it’s not exactly the kind of thing you’d be good at.” Wrong thing to say. As soon as it left his mouth, Vanitas wished for a rewind button to take it back with. Because of course Sora took it as a challenge. 

“If you can do it, then I can too.” 

“But what about Kairi? Won’t that bother her?” 

“If Ven can understand you doing it, then Kairi can understand if I do it.” Vanitas flinched, and Sora noticed. 

“You mean you’re not telling Ven?” he asked. 

“Look, it’s just- uh- I need a job,” Vanitas covered. 

“So do I," Sora insisted. "I still haven’t found anything since I got fired from the ice cream parlor. I’ve been doing some driving for Over, but people keep giving me low ratings because my car’s as busted up as it is.” 

“You could just let our parents buy you a newer car," Vanitas reminded. "I’m sure they’d even get you a used model if you asked.” 

“No way! I love my car. Oathkeeper is a good car. We’ve been through some good times together.” 

“Like getting stranded because it was too cold for the engine?” 

“That was one time. And Papa’s been helping me work on it.” 

“You mean he’s been helping Kairi work on it," Vanitas smirked. "We both know you don’t know the first thing about engines.” 

“Okay but she’s doing really great. Just because Oathkeeper isn’t the prettiest of cars doesn’t mean I’m getting rid of her so easily.” 

“Except it doesn’t keep any oaths. It keeps breaking instead.” 

“Shush. Don’t insult my car.” 

“Look, I’m going to be late.” 

“So I’ll give you a ride.” 

“I have a car too.” 

“Well if we’re both going why take two cars?” 

Vanitas sighed. Sora had made up his mind. There would be no talking him out of this now. Still, it did cheer him up. Not only did he get to work with his twin, but he would also get to see his dorky brother trying to act like a host. This would be good. 

* * *

If Cid was bothered by the fact that he had two new recruits instead of one, he didn’t show it. Auron however, knew that he was annoyed to even have one new recruit. He’d been around when Seifer first brought it up, and had seen in Cid’s expression that he would have pummeled the kid had his face not been needed for his job. That was why Auron was here today. Normally he didn’t like to stick around this dump too much, but this was going to be entertaining. 

“And your parents are okay with you doing this?” Cid sighed. 

“Cid, we’re legal adults. We don’t need permission,” Vanitas said. 

“When you’re you two coming to me for a job you do. I ain’t doing anything to piss those guys off.” 

Vanitas rolled his eyes. 

“And another thing," Cid continued, "What about your cousin? Her opinion is valued pretty highly around here.” 

“This has nothing to do with Aqua. Now can we just start working?” 

“Fine. For now, memorize this,” Cid said, tossing a menu of cocktails at them. Each drink had a picture next to it. “Until I know your parents are okay with you two hosting, you’ll be helping Rai out with drink deliveries. So try not to scare Vivi. The kid’s shy enough as it is.” 

“Fine,” Vanitas huffed. 

“This is a lot of drinks,” Sora murmured. 

“You bet your keister it is. And you better know them all. Now come meet the rest of the staff. I don’t believe you’re as familiar with them as your cousin is.” 

“Um, just to clarify, Aqua didn’t, you know, work here when she stayed with you guys, did she?” Sora asked, echoing Vanitas’s own thoughts. They knew Aqua had stayed with the Fantasy folks for a while when Eraqus had been abroad. But that had been more than ten years ago, and Aqua had been only 15. Also, the two of them just couldn’t picture Aqua working as a hostess. Sure she was really pretty, though they were biased as they’d both had crushes on her during their younger days, but she was too… unsuited to this job. And it didn’t seem right, her flirting with anyone other than Zexion. 

“Like hell she did. It’s bad enough hiring you two. But one of Eraqus’s kids? Absolutely not.” 

“Though there were those who didn’t seem to get that,” Auron commented. Cid glanced at him and made a face, acknowledging that what he said was true. 

Cid led the way out of his office and down the hall to the men’s locker room. 

“Hey boys. We’ve got some new recruits,” he said as he entered. 

A blonde man standing in front of an open locker barely even glanced at them before he resumed applying gel to his hair. Another man, brown haired with a scar on his face was standing next to the first. He turned and gaped, dropping a stick of deodorant. Behind him, a guy the same age as the twins seemed to be trying to hide. As they watched, he pulled a beanie down over his head and hunched over, slowly easing towards a gap in lockers from which the sound of a shower running could be heard. A head appeared in said gap, and it’s owner smiled and waved before retracting his head again. It was likely he was the one using the shower, as his hair had been sopping wet and there had still been some shampoo suds in it. One last guy, a bulky lad with darker skin was the first one to speak. 

“Great, can one of them help me with this stupid bow tie? You should hurry up and get clip ons, you know? Oh hi Sora, Vanitas.” 

“Hey Raijin,” Sora greeted, while Vanitas merely eyed the others. 

“Seifer, take that thing off your head. Your hair’s bad enough as it is,” Cid snapped. 

With a sigh, Seifer removed the beanie and stood up straight, no longer edging out of sight. He had been hoping to evade notice since he knew Cid wasn’t happy with him about recommending Vanitas for this job, but it was already too late. 

“Where’s Vivi?” Cid asked. 

“He’s already out getting the bar ready,” the guy who’d waved said, reappearing as he buttoned up his shirt. 

“Don’t forget to tuck the tail in, and zip up your pants,” Cid barked. “And Leon, close your mouth already. You look like an idjit.” 

As Leon’s mouth closed, the blonde man commented quietly “Should you really be telling people to tuck in their shirts?” It was true. Cid’s own shirt, an aloha shirt with a loud print, was not only hanging free of his cargo shorts, but also had only the middle button done up. Cid hmphed. 

“You be quiet, Cloud,” Cid growled. “Come on,” he called to the twins, and led them out and to the main room. There was an absolute clutter of sofas and tables, and an elaborate bar along one of the walls. Wiping down one of the tables was a person of indeterminable gender, wearing a cardigan, fedora, scarf, and loose jeans with work boots. 

“Yo Vivi, new recruits. They’ll be helping Rai deliver drinks for you.” 

The person’s head raised just a little, bobbed marginally, and then lowered as if trying to hide. 

“Alright, there’s a staff meeting back in my office in ten minutes. Be there. I’ll introduce the girls then.” Cid stomped off. 

“Guess we’d better get busy with this,” Vanitas said, waving the menu. They sat down and began looking over the fancy drinks and their strange names. 

“Those weren’t really introductions,” Sora said after a few minutes. 

“Well we’ve heard about them, so we kinda know who they are anyways,” Vanitas said. 

“Not all of them. Like that guy in Cid’s office. I wonder who he was.” 

“Auron,” said a small voice. Both Sora and Vanitas jumped, but Vivi didn’t offer any other information. 

“Does he also work here?” Sora asked. Vivi shook his head and began wiping faster. 

“Er, sorry,” Sora said, and the wiping slowed a bit as he turned back to the menu. “Do you think they’re like Pappy and Ma?” It took Vanitas a moment to figure out what Sora meant. In other words, Sora was asking if Cid and Auron were lovers. 

“If that’s what you think, it’s probably true,” he replied. Sora did have a pretty good intuition for relationships. 

“You’d better go,” Vivi said, and the boys realized they needed to go to Cid’s office already. 

“Thanks,” Sora said as they left. Vivi inclined his head slightly. 

* * *

In Cid’s office, they were introduced to some girls they’d heard of from Aqua. Aerith, who had shared a room with Aqua, Tifa, who had gotten Aqua more into martial arts, Yuffie, of whom they’d heard countless stories, Fuujin, who they’d met once before, and Yuna, a slightly older woman who was the club’s singer and who was rumored to be dating their dad Demyx. It was somewhat surprising to see that they were almost all shorter than the boys, who had somehow pictured them in their minds as being larger than life. Tifa in particular drew their stares, as they had expected a female version of Lexaeus, or a bodybuilder of some sort. The reality was a lot prettier than they’d anticipated, and had a larger bust. 

After introductions, Cid yelled at them to memorize the menu, and yelled at everyone else to help them out. He then shoved black dress pants, white dress shirts, black vests, and black dress shoes at them; stereotypical bartender outfits. 

After they changed, they didn’t have much time to look at the menu anymore, since Raijin had to run them through a few procedural things, and explain what was expected of them. As well as delivering drinks they would help seat customers. They were to stick to the walls when not taking orders, delivering drinks, or seating customers, since that way they could better see when someone wanted to order something. They would also make trips back the hall to the wine cellar as needed, and clean up any spills. Cid also stopped by to inform them that they should not under any circumstances get involved with angry customers, as the “senior staff”- basically everyone else- would handle it, and also they were to smile at all times. This was easy for Sora, but everyone looked skeptically at Vanitas, who typically scowled at everyone and everything. 

“Don’t worry. I’ll be nice,” he said. 

“Just remember that smirking and sneering don’t count,” Cid grumbled. 

That first shift was rather overwhelming. On the plus side, Raijin was used to handling floor work on his own, so he could manage. But for all of Raijin’s efficiency, the twins were almost equally inefficient. They would take Vivi an order, and when it was ready, he’d tell them which drink it was. But by then the twins would have forgotten which table had ordered the irish car bombs or the rusty nails or long island iced teas and so they’d have to wander aimlessly until one of the hosts caught their eye and indicated that the drinks the boys had were those ordered by their customers. 

Sora had also found himself disoriented when he’d gone back to the wine cellar and run into a short-haired woman who looked almost as aggressive as Larxene. She was also dressed such that she might have been at home as one of the hosts. 

“Uh, um,” Sora stammered. 

“You new?” she asked. 

He nodded. 

“Paine,” she said sticking out a hand. “I’m the delivery girl. Cid buys it, I pick it up and bring it here.” Sora shook the hand 

“Oh. Uh, I’m-” 

“One of the thirteen’s boys. I don’t care which. Nice to meet you and all, but I’ve got more cabernet sauvignon in the van and I don’t want it to overheat.” 

As she left Auron came in. 

“I see you met our local goth.” 

“Is she always so unfriendly?” Sora asked. 

“If you think she’s unfriendly clearly you haven’t talked to Cloud.” Auron walked off, and Sora had hurried back with the wine he was supposed to grab, thinking that pretty much everyone seemed a little unfriendly so far. 

At the end of the night, both boys were exhausted. As they helped Raijin clean up, Cid waved them over so he could slap them with the menu and once again tell them to memorize it. He then ushered them into his office to talk about their work schedules. Apparently they’d passed. 

* * *

The trick to getting parental permission was all about who and when. The who was quite obvious. Xemnas had grown fond of the boys over the years, but he was still far less concerned with safety and whatnot than the rest of the parents. Any of the others would freak out if they discovered their boys were working at Fantasy, but Xemnas wouldn’t see anything wrong with it. As for when, well, if he was busy he’d say yes to anything just to get you out of his hair. And Xemnas was always busiest in the time just before weekly meetings. You just had to catch him alone. 

“Heya, sir,” Vanitas said, bursting in on Xemnas as he shuffled some papers. As Vanitas had expected, no one else was present. He’d gotten Sora to distract Xigbar, and had purposely upset Axel so Saix would go comfort him. Meaning Xemnas was without the two burrs who were constantly around him when it came to work. 

“Go away you,” Xemnas said without looking up. 

“Sure, sure. Just real quick, can you sign this permission form?” 

“You’re in college. Why do you still need permission slips?” 

“It’s for a job. Cid won’t let us work as hosts without your permission.” Xemnas wasn’t listening though, as he was searching for a pen. Perfect. 

“Alright, hand it over,” Xemnas said, and signed away. Vanitas snatched the paper up before their father had a chance to look more closely at it. 

“Thanks, old man,” he said, and sailed out of the room before Xemnas could do more than throw the pen at him. 

* * *

“Hmph,” Cid said, examining the form. 

“We got permission, just like you said,” Vanitas said. “Now about us hosting…” 

“We’ll have to figure out your types.” 

“Types?” both boys chorused. 

“Yeah. Your types. Each of our staff members appeals to customers as a certain type of personality. Cloud’s the stoic one, Leon works with Cloud to make him more approachable, Seifer’s the tough guy who you’ll never change but you still want to try, Zack’s the jokester. As for the girls, Tifa’s the sexy one, Yuffie’s the tomboy, Aerith’s the girl next door, and Fuu’s the haughty lady. For you two, we could go with a twin theme. There could be a forbidden love like in that anime Yuffie used to watch.” Sora and Vanitas exchanged a look. 

“But that’s so-” Sora protested. 

“Realistic,” Vanitas finished. “After suppressing my brotherly love all this time, you mean I can finally let it out?” He winked at Sora. “Just act. It’s easy.” 

“I-if you say so,” Sora said, and then tried to slip into character. “I, uh, I know that you would never lead me wrong, dearest.” 

Cid put a hand to his forehead and shook his head. 

“My god this is awful,” he said. 

“Quit trying to interfere with our relationship!” Vanitas cried. “Sora don’t listen to others. We don’t need their approval. You’re all I need.” Sora turned scarlet and Vanitas couldn’t hold back a grin. 

“And cut,” said Auron from the doorway. “That was not convincing in the least. No amount of work could redeem that performance.” 

“Agreed,” Cid said, nodding. 

“Um, actually, couldn’t I just keep helping Rai?” Sora asked. “I don’t know if I’m really suited for, uh, hosting and all.” 

“While we could work with that awkwardness, I think Rai would appreciate the help. You’re off the hook,” Cid said. Sora sighed with relief. 

“So what about me?” Vanitas asked. “I could be the charmer.” 

“A charmer? But you’re such a tsundere!” Sora exclaimed. 

“What in the gosh darn is a soon, uh, whatever?” Cid asked. 

“It means he acts all cold towards people rather than flirting, but then he gets randomly cute,” Sora said helpfully. 

“Hmm.” 

“Trust me, I can be charming when I want,” Vanitas said. 

“I’ll believe it, since you tried to pull it on your brother a little bit ago,” Cid said. “Fine. Go see Rikku.” 

“Riku?” Vanitas asked, turning pale. 

“Rikku. Our seamstress. Her office is next to the women's’ locker room. The green door.” 

Vanitas sighed with relief to realize Cid wasn’t talking about his ex, and headed off to do as instructed. He knocked on the green door, but didn’t get an answer. Cautiously, he opened the door. 

“Um, Ms. Rikku?” he called. 

Vanitas almost managed to avoid getting tackled by the woman who came flying out from between the many racks of clothes in the room, but not quite. He tucked his chin to avoid hitting his head and tried to slap the ground like he’d been taught, but he still got the wind knocked out of him. He gasped for breath, and the woman began whipping a measuring tape around him, not caring if she got more personal than he would have liked. She seemed to be chanting something, and it sounded like numbers. 

“All done,” she said suddenly, and helped him to his feet. “Now for the waist,” she said, and despite claiming to be done she kept going with that darned measuring tape. Vanitas vowed to take some scissors to it. 

“Okay then, what’s your type?” she asked. Vanitas almost gave a sarcastic response about girls who didn’t attack him with measuring tapes, but then he realized she was probably referring to his type of personality as a host. 

“Casanova,” he replied with a slight swagger. 

“Ooo,” she said and giggled. “There’s so many possibilities! We could go for a classic host and give you a suit, though I don’t think it’d be easy to find a good color scheme for you, and also you might end up looking like a penguin, which is not at all what we’re going for. Perhaps a more hipster look, with fake glasses and a neck scarf and plaid shirt? But that might just make you look gay, and we typically cater more towards straight customers, though I really don’t know why since it’s not like anyone around here is homophobic, and also when customers make homophobic comments they get kicked out, so I really ought to ask Cid about that sometime. Later though. I’m thinking-” at this point Vanitas tuned Rikku out. She prattled on as he did what he always did in these situations, and turned up the head music. The only song that came to mind at the moments was one of the lullabies Demyx used to sing for him and Sora as kids; something about being too sexy for one’s shirt. It probably wasn’t a song that was intended to be a lullaby, but Demyx had managed to make it into one. He would have preferred something else at the moment, but Vanitas let the memory of the song play in his head anyways, trying not to let the irony of that particular song being in his head right here and right now sink in. 

Eventually Rikku reminded him that he had a shift, and so he headed off to the locker rooms to get dressed for yet another drink delivery shift. He comforted himself with the fact that his days of doing this were numbered. 

As they worked, he paid attention to Sora. His brother was actually pretty good at this. He smiled genuinely, paid compliments that were sincere, and more than a few eyes followed him as he left tables after taking their orders or delivering drinks. Leave it to Sora to be so naturally loveable yet so completely hopeless when he tried- the complete opposite of Vanitas. That’s how Sora was in general though. His greatest strengths only came out when he wasn’t being self-aware. 

After the shift was over, Cid had Vanitas stay late so Cloud, Leon, and Zack could give him some pointers and go over rules. Sora stuck around so they could drive home together. Vanitas had to learn about the touch policies, and how the hosts were never to initiate touching, and no one, host or customer, was allowed to touch anyone’s private areas. They were also never to display favoritism, as apparently there had once been a mini-war when Yuna, who used to host as well as sing, had unwittingly given a customer the idea that she was going to elope with him. There were plenty of other rules- rules about drink consumption, both his own and the customers’, rules about appropriate conversation topics, rules about promises to customers and about fraternizing with customers outside of work. Basically, as a host he was to make the customers feel attractive but not get them to expect anything more. He could do that. He was Vanitas after all. 

After a while, Vanitas found himself getting up the courage to ask something he’d long wondered about. 

“Hey Leon. How’d you get that scar?” Sora had been half asleep on one of the sofas, but he sat up to listen. He was curious too. 

“He’s a horrible cook. His ability to handle a knife is so bad he cuts his face instead of the carrots,” Cloud said. 

“Guys, Aqua’s my cousin," Vanitas huffed. "I’m not going to believe that.” 

“Well, there was this angry guinea pig…” Zack began, but Vanitas stopped him with a glare. 

“Would you believe it was a papercut?” Zack tried again, and received an eye roll. 

“He ran into a…” 

“Cloud, don’t,” Vanitas snapped. 

“Guys, shush. I’ll tell it,” Leon said. 

“If this starts off it was a dark and stormy night…” Vanitas muttered. 

“It doesn’t. Though as I recall it may have been. The Finals liked dramatic things like that.” 

“The Finals?” Sora asked, edging closer. 

“The Finals,” Leon confirmed. Cloud tched and Zack shivered. 

“You know, I think Cid wanted me to…” Zack began. 

“Wanted you to sit back down because we’re not done training this kid. Squall, can’t this wait til later?” Cloud asked. 

“I think I’m trained enough, so you guys can go,” Vanitas said. Zack was gone before the words finished. 

“Are you sure you’re sticking around?” Leon asked. Cloud glared, but didn’t budge. 

“So are you going to tell me about these finals? Because something tells me you don’t mean the exams,” Vanitas said. 

“No. Though some say that’s where the name came from. Others believe it was because-” 

“Squall, focus,” Cloud ordered. 

“Why does he call you Squall?” Sora asked. 

“Long story. And we’ve already got one long one cued up. So another time perhaps. But anyways, the Finals were a gang.” 

“I’ve never heard of them,” Vanitas said, and Sora shook his head. 

“Well of course not,” Cloud said with a bitter laugh. 

“They got taken down twelve years ago. The Yakuza 13 actually helped with it.” 

“So what does this have to do with your scar?” Vanitas asked. 

“The Finals had an initiation ritual. New recruits would be held down and cut. It was partly practical, and party symbolic. They got to see how you handled pain and how brave you were, and also how far you would go for the gang. Also you were cutting away your old life. Oh, and I guess you were getting marked as a member as well.” 

“So you’re saying you were part of this gang Leon?” Sora asked, his eyes wide. 

“Yeah. We all were.” 

“Who all were?” Leave it to Sora to ask a question that's answer seemed totally obvious to Vanitas. 

“Everyone here at Fantasy,” Leon explained. 

“What, really?" Sora was soaking up the details like a small child at story time. "Oh, so that’s also how Seifer got his scar? But what about the rest of you?” 

“They have theirs in places you don’t see. Zack’s is on the back of his neck, which is why he keeps his hair a little long like that.” 

“Wow. That’s…” Vanitas didn’t finish, as Cloud pulled off his shirt. Vanitas managed not to whistle, but he was impressed. He almost didn’t notice the small scar on Cloud’s left pectoral. 

“Is that your scar? It’s a lot smaller than Leon’s.” 

“That’s because it was a stab wound rather than a cut.” 

“Cloud’s initiator was a little…” Leon began. 

“The term you’re looking for is pure evil,” Cloud said bluntly. 

“Let’s just say he was a bit extreme. And there were some bad feelings between them.” 

“That’s pretty close to the heart isn’t it? You must have been lucky to live,” Sora said. 

“Luck had nothing to do with it. That guy wasn’t trying to kill me. He just wanted to prove that he could kill me, anytime he wanted to.” Cloud pulled his shirt back down. 

“I… see. But if the Yakuza 13 took down the Finals, how come you guys all work here at Fantasy and pay a percentage of your earnings to them?” 

“Cid cut them a deal. He’d give them information to take the Finals down if they let him get us out,” Leon said. 

“But why?” 

“Cid didn’t like it when the Finals started recruiting children," Leon explained. "There were others at one point, but the Finals often sent us on suicide missions, so a lot of them ended up in prison or dead. It was pretty brutal. And Cid may not have known a whole lot that was good, but Auron was pretty high up, and Cid knew Auron wanted out too. He didn’t like the way they treated Yuna, since she’s his friend’s daughter and was in an abusive relationship with one of the big shots. Which meant she also had some good information, from things she’d overheard. They knew they couldn’t just leave, so they had to get protection. That’s also how they ended up getting this place. It’s an almost legitimate business, and it’s still under the umbrella of protection of the Yakuza 13.” 

“Okay, but couldn’t you guys have gone to any gang?" Vanitas asked, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, the Yakuza 13 don’t exactly have a benevolent reputation.” 

“But they did have an old score to settle with the Finals.” Leon's voice was a little wry, with some sadness mixed in. 

“Which was?” Vanitas prodded. 

“The Yakuza 13 and the Finals used to be allies. The Finals actually helped the Yakuza 13 rise. But then about 20 years ago…” Leon trailed off, looking uncertain for the first time. 

“About twenty years ago?” Sora prompted. 

“About twenty years ago I got initiated into the Finals. And as a result Hope got killed,” Cloud finished. 

It took Vanitas and Sora a moment to place the name Hope. But when they did, their eyes went wide in shock. 

“But Aunt Hope died of a heart defect!” Sora exclaimed. 

“No. She didn’t. She died because that psy-!” Cloud cut himself off. His eyes were ablaze with loathing. 

“The official explanation the Finals gave was that she interfered with an initiation, which they claimed they had the right to respond to with force. And if that force just so happened to be enough that a pregnant woman went into early labor and died? Well that was too bad. But given the person responsible, it was more likely a set-up meant to cause anger. Not everyone in the Finals was happy with how well the Yakuza 13 was doing, and wanted to remind them who was in charge. It backfired though,” Leon explained. 

“And the Yakuza 13’s official explanation was that she got caught in gang crossfire,” Cloud said. He got up and left, clearly having had enough of the conversation. 

“Indeed,” Leon said, continuing. “At that time, Xemnas couldn’t afford a war with the Finals, and so he had to make do with simply severing their alliance. But to not look weak, he had to downplay the situation.” 

“So where did it become just a heart defect?” Vanitas asked. Though he had a feeling he already knew. 

“Eraqus. He didn’t want his kids to grow up hating the Yakuza 13 for not protecting their mom, or wanting revenge, or being afraid.” 

“Wow,” Sora breathed. 

“It’s also why we took Aqua,” Aerith said, entering the room from the hall. “All of us here, we feel we owe it to Eraqus to protect his family. Terra and Ventus had already been accounted for, or else we would have offered them a home as well.” 

“But Ven ended up staying with Xehanort,” Vanitas spat. 

“If we could go against that man, we would have taken Ventus from him the moment we heard. But if we could go against him, then none of us would ever have joined the Finals.” 

“You mean…” Vanitas turned pale. 

“Yes." Aerith nodded. "Xehanort had close ties with the Finals, and it was his suggestion that began the child recruitments.” 

Sora and Vanitas both felt slightly dizzy. If grandpa Xehanort had had ties to this awful Finals gang, he could have just as easily left them to be raised there rather than with the Yakuza 13. The two of them could only imagine what horrors would have awaited them there in a gang where some person who had stabbed Cloud just because he could and killed the mother of their cousins was welcome. 

They shuddered. 

“You guys… that must have been awful,” Sora said. He wiped away a tear from the corner of his eye. Sora was so emotional. 

“You have no idea. Aside from Cid, the Finals treated us like dirt. They kept us around using threats. And if one of us was in trouble, they never went to help,” Aerith told them. 

“Like that time we all thought you were dead,” Leon said. 

“You guys thought Aerith was dead?” 

“She was sent to deliver a bomb. Not that they told us it was a bomb. But when she didn’t come back and we heard about the explosion, we assumed the worst. It wasn’t uncommon after all. But then after a few weeks Cid got a call from a hospital about a little girl who had been a coma patient and had finally woken up and said he was her guardian. We were all so relieved.” 

“Best not to mention that around Cloud. As the oldest he felt responsible for the rest of us, and also he blames himself for the things his brother did,” Aerith cautioned. 

“His brother?” Sora and Vanitas chorused. 

“Oh, Squall. You didn’t tell them that?” 

“Cloud was still around. You know he hates it when Sephiroth is mentioned. It’s bad enough talking about all that, but saying that name in front of him or talking about how they shared a family bond? No thank you. I’d rather live.” 

“What’s Cloud’s brother got to do with all this?” 

“Sephiroth is the one who stabbed Cloud and killed Hope.” 

“His own brother?!” The twins exclaimed, horrified. 

“Yup. Needless to say Sephiroth rose quickly in the Finals.” 

Sora and Vanitas exchanged a look. Neither of them could imagine doing intentional harm to the other, let alone something so ruthless. 

“I-I’m sorry you guys had to go through all that,” Sora whispered. And he meant it, sweet kid that he was. 

“It’s all in the past now,” Aerith said. 

“So about Leon getting called Squall…” Vanitas started. 

“Another time. We should all be getting to bed,” Leon insisted, and he herded the twins out the door. 

* * *

Since it was a Friday night, the twins were headed home for the weekend, and they had plenty to think about as they drove home. About halfway there, Sora spoke up. 

“Do you think we should tell them?” 

“Tell who what?” 

“Our cousins. About their mom.” 

Vanitas was silent. He knew what Sora meant. They deserved the truth. But what would the truth do to them? He didn’t want Ven having to deal with this. And what about Terra and Aqua? 

“I don’t know. It’s not really something we have the right to share.” 

“But doesn’t it feel wrong to know and say nothing?” 

“That’s just because you suck at keeping secrets,” Vanitas said with a forced laugh. His attempt at being lighthearted was falling flat. 

“Though maybe you’re right. Isn’t Aqua becoming a surgeon because of their mom and all?” 

“Yeah. I also kinda understand their reasoning. Like what if they all hated us because of it?” That was probably the main reason Vanitas would keep his silence. He couldn’t stand the thought of people he cared about hating him. He knew the idea of them hating him for his parents’ former ally killing their mom was illogical, but he feared it anyways. 

“So we just pretend we don’t know then?” Sora asked. 

“Yeah. We’ll pretend we don’t know.” 

* * *

The next day Vanitas’s new outfit was ready. It was a suit without a jacket- not so different from what he’d been wearing delivering drinks, just a little fancier. When he tried it on, it actually fit rather well. To top it off, Rikku informed him that while he wouldn’t wear a jacket for work, she had tailored one for him, and Cid had given his permission to allow Vanitas to keep the ensemble if he ever quit so he could use it for job interviews. Apparently Cid saw the twins as only temporary staff members. But one never knew what the future would bring, that’s what Vanitas thought. 

Vanitas felt completely in the zone as he strode out onto the floor for work. He had this. He would be the best host this place ever saw. Hands down. He’d be amazing. 

An hour into the shift Vanitas still had no customers, and felt a lot less certain of himself. Finally, Rai led a lady over, explaining that she was a regular of Cloud and Leon’s but they were having a busy night so she’d agreed to let Vanitas serve her instead. It stung that he could only get the leftovers of someone else, but it was a start. He’d do so well with this customer that soon everybody would be begging to be served by him. 

As the woman was brought to sit with him, Vanitas worked his magic. He rued the fact that the rules meant he couldn’t kiss her hand unless it was offered, but he wouldn’t let that hamper him. 

“Oh my,” he said to her. “I would tell you what an honor it is to be of service to someone so gorgeous, but I’m sure that a woman as beautiful as you hears words of praise so often they simply sound like empty flattery.” 

Behind him, he heard a bout of coughing, as well as concerned female voices asking “Leon, are you okay?” 

The woman giggled slightly as he helped her to her seat. 

Over the next few hours, Vanitas’s customers picked up. He was able to go through many such lines, delivering them with far more success than Luxord, who he’d learned them from. By the end of the shift he had a few fans, and had already had to turn down a few requests for his number. It was the rules after all. And they weren’t really his type. 

Cid approached him at the end of his shift. 

“So I hear you’re using pick-up lines,” Cid drawled. Vanitas wasn’t sure if he was about to get chewed out. Probably. Cid was a bit of a grouch. 

“Funny thing. In the early days of this place, Zack tried that exact technique and got slapped for it. And yet here you are, a roaring success with them lines. Who’da thunk it?” 

Cid walked away, chuckling, and Vanitas heaved a sigh. 

“Heh, seems like you did a good job today kiddo,” Zack said, coming up and giving Vanitas a noogie. “Drinks are on me?” 

“Does that apply to all of us, or just him?” Seifer asked. 

“Hey idiot, he’s underage, and Vivi’s almost finished closing the bar,” Leon said, tossing a wadded up napkin at Zack head. 

“I didn’t mean here,” Zack complained. “Though I guess we can’t take him out if he’s underage.” 

“Don’t worry. I have a fake id,” Vanitas assured them. 

“Just don’t get him too drunk,” Yuna cautioned. “We don’t want to have to explain that one to the Yakuza 13.” 

“Vanitas, don’t you think we should go home already?” Sora asked. 

“Why? The night’s still young,” Vanitas replied. 

“Indeed it is,” someone said from the entrance. Two men walked in, both with long silver hair. 

“Sorry, but-” Sora didn’t get to finish explaining, as a hand covered his mouth, and he found himself being tossed towards the hall. Vanitas landed next to him. Before they could pick themselves up, they were hauled backwards into the shadows. 

“You two. Back door. Get out. Now,” Auron ordered, and gave them another shove in that direction. 

“What the hell?” Vanitas growled, and crawled forward to peer back into the main room. Sora followed, half curious and half convinced that he should do whatever it took to drag his twin out of there right that moment and race home to the safety of their parents. 

The scene on the floor was an odd one. Aside from Pain and Rikku, everyone was in the room now, just standing there, but the tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. When Sora looked closely, he could see the little details that gave it away, like how pale Cloud was, or the way Zack was squeezing the life out of the chair his hand was resting on, or how Aerith was holding Yuna up. As the boys watched, Auron handed Yuffie something rolled in cloth. Tifa was cracking her knuckles. Across the room, one of the intruders chuckled, while the other smiled and waved like a celebrity entering a crowd of fans. That chuckle sent shivers down Sora’s spine. 

“Sephiroth. You’re not welcome here,” Cid said curtly. 

“Well I was wondering who to greet first, but I suppose it will be you then,” Sephiroth replied. “Are you jealous because your boyfriend and I have been having a nice little dance together these past twelve years?” 

“That’s one way of putting it,” the second man laughed. “Yuna, darling. I’ll forgive you for running out on me and being a little slut if you come here.” Yuna began shaking so hard that she fell to her knees even with Aerith trying to hold her up. Sora wondered if he and Vanitas shouldn’t go get her out of there. He wondered if they shouldn’t all be getting out of there. He would never have guessed that this man was Cloud’s brother. There was no resemblance between them. 

“Setzer, do shut up,” Sephiroth ordered icily. 

“Aerith, why don’t you take Yuna to the wardrobe room?” Auron suggested. That was the official name for Rikku’s little closet of chaos. 

“Ah yes. Little Aerith. It was such a shame you didn’t perish like you were supposed to.” Sephiroth gave a thin smile that contained no amusement. “And the rest of you pests. You’re not even worth talking to, now that I think of it. Except Cloud. My foolish little brother. You will never escape me Cloud. You are mine, don’t you know that?” 

In response Cloud reached under the cushions of one of the sofas and pulled out a gun and started shooting. Sephiroth calmly walked forward, giving no indication that bullets were flying other than sidestepping here and there. Sora and Vanitas had heard from Aqua that the members of Fantasy were all lethal, capable of using almost any weapon with high proficiency or complete mastery. From what she’d said, they weren’t people who would miss when shooting, and their cousin was not one to exaggerate. Sora felt himself shaking, suddenly too scared to move as his brain screamed at him to get out of there. Vanitas was made of sterner stuff though. The last things Sora saw before his brother hauled him away were more guns being pulled out, Yuffie unrolling the bundle Auron had given her to reveal a pocket full of shuriken which she began throwing, and Tifa and Raijin charging forward to attack Setzer, who yawned as he dodged and blocked their initial attacks. But then Sora and Vanitas were back the hall and bursting through the back door. Sora regained control of his body and pelted to the car, diving into the passenger seat. He barely had time to close his door before Vanitas reached over and yanked his seat belt into place. Sora glanced over to see Vanitas was already buckled up and turning the key in the ignition. 

“Call the parents,” Vanitas ordered as he peeled out of the parking spot. He was sweating and his voice was a little unsteady. “I have a feeling that they’re the only ones who can help those guys now.” 

* * *

Xaldin had been hoping for a quiet night in to work on balancing the account books. It was a task he rather enjoyed more and more as he got older, which was good because as much as he trusted his underlings he didn’t trust them to notice their mistakes. Human error existed, and it was why he knew he could count on himself with his tendency to dodecatuple-check his work. His underlings thought it was excessive to do more than triple-check. 

However, the peaceful night of accounting simply wasn’t meant to be. At promptly 8:00, when Xaldin was only just getting into the swing of his work, Demyx showed up. Demyx was prone to coming to pester the other members of the Yakuza 13 brass, and ever since the twins had arrived in their care twenty years before, Demyx spent a good deal more time bugging Xaldin. Zexion had once gone and calculated that Demyx bugged Xaldin at a rate of 187% more than he bugged the others. Almost twice as much. 

It was especially puzzling that Demyx found so much time to annoy him when the man had a girlfriend. Demyx always claimed she was at work though, which made Xaldin wonder if perhaps this girlfriend was fictional; created so that Demyx wouldn’t feel left out since so many of the brass had significant others these days. Though really, 7 out of 14 wasn’t that many… 

As usual, Demyx brought chaos. Xaldin supposed he could be worse- he could be a heavy drinker like Luxord or Xigbar, or worse, a snob who found fault in everything and complained incessantly like that pretty-boy Marluxia. But Demyx always brought one of his collection of stringed instruments- his mandolin, his banjo, his shamisen, one of his guitars, his lyre, his ukulele, or any of the multitude of stringed instruments he collected. Today he’d brought his beloved sitar, which seemed to be his favorite. And not only did he play music and sing all the time, he left a mess everywhere. 

Xaldin resigned himself to the fact that he was going to spend the next morning cleaning up his kitchen and bathroom, rerolling all his toilet paper, and hunting his entire apartment for trash. He would inevitably miss some and not find it for a day or two, or until the next time Demyx came to turn his home into a pig sty. 

This carried on for hours, until a little after midnight, when their phones both dinged. Demyx was lying on the couch with his feet over the back at the time, and called to Xaldin, asking him to hold up his phone for Demyx to see. Xaldin knew it was best to just comply, so he went over and got his colleague’s phone (which thankfully was on the couch next to him and not in a pocket) and held it in front of his face while he dug in his own pocket for his own phone. 

“It’s upside down, and you didn’t unlock it,” Demyx told him. Grumbling, Xaldin opened Demyx’s phone for him and flipped it over so that it would be right side up, or right side up to Demyx at least. Xaldin finally got his phone out and was just tapping in his password when Demyx threw his sitar aside and snatched the phone from Xaldin. This was especially shocking, as Xaldin had never seen Demyx treat any instrument, particularly not one of his and let alone his precious sitar, with such violence. Normally he handled them more gently than he’d cradled the twins when they were babies. 

“Yuna,” Demyx rasped, and charged for the door. He stopped in the doorway and turned back to Xaldin. 

“Are you coming or not?” he snapped angrily. Xaldin hadn’t seen Demyx ever behave this way, except maybe that one time the twins had been kidnapped. The man had such a disgustingly sunny disposition, and was eternally laid back. It was nearly impossible to get him to do anything, as he’d always wave a hand and say “yeah, yeah, I’m on it,” while completely ignoring everything you said. No one knew how he was still around, since he was without a doubt the most unproductive and ineffective member and leader the Yakuza 13 had ever seen. That he was leading the way now meant there was trouble afoot, and Xaldin didn’t need to know what it was to know he’d be needed. He followed after Demyx, slowing only to grab his coat. 

As the two of them sped off, Xaldin finally looked at the text. It was from Sora, and he’d clearly been in a hurry and hadn’t bothered to fix the autocorrect. But he got the idea. Sephiroth was at Fantasy. 

* * *

When he started hearing several sets of tires squealing as help arrived, Sephiroth sighed. He had been in the midst of teaching his little brother a lesson, and hated to cut it short. Cloud could be so very dense. Around him, all those others were either unconscious or immobile already. Setzer was back the hall trying to break down a door. Sephiroth really couldn’t understand why that idiot was so obsessive about that woman. And to think Setzer had the gall to compare it to his interest in his brother. 

As Sephiroth decided to retreat, he realized where he must have gone wrong. He’d known that the two boys this lot had tried to protect were the children of his mortal enemies, the Yakuza 13 who had betrayed him so viciously. He had let them escape so that they could carry word to their parents about his return, but he hadn’t anticipated such a quick response. Also, he had wanted to let them see what they were up against, and rue the day they were adopted by the wrong gang. 

Sephiroth was in no real hurry as he left. While he wouldn’t be able to kill the 13 like he so desired, they wouldn’t be able to kill him either. It was the stalemate they’d been in for years. But it would be ending soon, as after he came back and ruined his former underlings, he would take the next step and pick them off, one by one. And not just the gang. Those affiliated with them as well. That Eraqus and his children, and that Maleficent and her son Pete, and all their business partners. He would destroy them more efficiently than that dratted Xemnas could. Xehanort would finally be proud of him. 

As Sephiroth walked down that back hallway to leave, he pulled out a knife and stabbed Setzer as he passed him. He didn’t need such useless garbage. Today had proved that. Even fighting at their best, the traitors who worked at this club “Fantasy” were no threat to him. He found the name of their little club rather appropriate. A life without him and the Finals would always be just a fantasy for them; it would be their final fantasy. Sephiroth chuckled evilly at this thought, and vanished into the night. 

* * *

After Sephiroth’s appearance, the entire Yakuza 13 was on high alert. Members were to check in with their leaders every hour, and anyone who could stay at the headquarters building was to do so. The Yakuza 13 were pouring all their resources into finding Sephiroth and eliminating him, but they had little hope as he’d evaded them for the past twelve years. Not surprisingly, Fantasy was closed for the time being while their members stayed in the safety of the Yakuza 13's base. 

As for the members of Fantasy, most of them hadn’t come off too worse for wear. A few cracked ribs here and there, a couple of concussions, and some broken limbs. But the visit had taken a great toll on them mentally. Most of them refused to speak. Yuna spent most of her time locked by herself in a small room that had been set up for her, only allowing Rikku, Paine, Demyx, Auron, and Aerith in. Demyx spent a good deal of time singing to her, which shocked many as they hadn’t believed the rumors that the two of them were dating. Vivi did regular checks to make sure everyone was still alive, and once had a nervous breakdown and began hyperventilating when Seifer wasn’t in his room when Vivi checked. Seifer actually cried a bit when he came back from using the bathroom and found his friend in such a panic. Fuujin had put on a pair of headphones and was endlessly listening to music, only she had the volume so loud that even passers-by could hear what she was listening to quite clearly. And Cloud refused to get out of bed. As for the rest of them, they were constantly getting scolded by Vexen for sneaking off to the gym to spar rather than letting their bodies heal. 

Sora and Vanitas were watching one such practice in the gym when an alarm went off, the lights went out, and a door slammed shut. Someone whistled. 

“Nice security they got here,” Cid’s voice said from the dark. It was impossible to be certain if he actually said this though, since Fuujin was also in the room. She was a superb mimic, and in the few shifts the twins had worked they’d gotten chances to hear her mimic the voices of the other Fantasy staff, including a very interesting moment where she’d read a conversation from a yaoi manga using the voices of Raijin and Seifer. Supposedly the reason she was so quiet most of the time was because she wanted to become a voice actress and was scared of ruining her voice, a fear that was intensified by the fact that her scar from being initiated into the Finals was across her throat. 

“Yes, but will it be enough to stop him?” Tifa asked, and her voice was actually shaking. 

“Dangit, I should have brought my shuriken!” Yuffie complained. 

“Shh!” someone hissed. 

“Oh come on. Sephiroth can’t possibly be able to hear us,” Yuffie retorted. 

“I wouldn’t put anything past that guy, no matter how impossible it seems,” Zack hissed back. 

“Did they really have to turn out the lights?” Vanitas asked. 

“Actually, the intruder probably did that. It’s not part of the system,” one of the underlings whispered from nearby. 

Everyone waited tensely for a few minutes until an explosion rocked the room, and a square of light appeared as one of the doors was blasted off its hinges, allowing light from a nearby window to shine in. 

“It’s all right,” someone called. “Don’t shoot!” As a silhouette appeared in the doorway, everyone sighed in relief, as the voice belonged to Axel. “He left for now. Zexion and Lexaeus are already working on repairing the damage to our system, so anyone from their divisions should head off to help out, ‘kay?” 

* * *

It was a relief that the attack on headquarters had been brief and had been snuffed out so easily, but it left the distinct impression that Sephiroth was just testing the waters. He would come back. And when he did, he might just test them again, and again and again until he was ready to take them out. But they could never be certain when that would happen. They needed to eliminate him. But that was an impossible task. 

After electricity was back on, the twins decided to accompany the crew from Fantasy as they went to visit Cloud and make sure he was okay. When they entered his room, he was sitting up, leaning against the wall behind him, with a card tucked in his hand. He wasn’t looking at them, but he sensed they were there, as he spoke to them once they’d all crammed in. 

“Vincent was here.” Chaos erupted. 

“Vincent Valentine?” 

“THE Vincent Valentine? The legend?” 

“Wait, you really know him?” 

“What was he doing here?” 

The twins looked at each other. Cloud knew Vincent Valentine? They’d heard of Vincent Valentine. He was said to have taken down an entire gang, single-handedly, in a single night. He was believed to have survived various fatal injuries. Every gang in the world wanted him on their side, but he was always moving around to avoid any commitment and refused to get involved with anyone. Few had met him and lived. 

“And?” Cid asked. 

“He said not to worry. Here see, for yourself,” Cloud said, and handed over the card. It was a typical “get well soon” type of thing, with a message scrawled inside: “quit being so stressed out -VV”. 

“Man, I wish we’d been here to meet him,” Vanitas said in awe. 

“Ugh, I’m so glad I wasn’t!” Leon exclaimed. 

“He asked about you, by the way," Cloud said blandly. "Wanted to know if you’re still a crybaby.” 

“I was never a crybaby!” 

“Wait, you knew him too?” Sora asked. 

“It’s a little known fact that wherever Vincent Valentine goes, he gives basic fighting lessons to street children,” Yuffie said proudly. 

“He taught you guys to fight?” the twins said in unison, their jaws both hanging ajar. 

“Yeah. I thought he was done with us though, since we all grew up,” Aerith said sadly. 

“Maybe he got sentimental about the good ole days,” Zack suggested cheerfully, opening the pudding that was on Cloud’s bedside table. 

“Thanks for opening that,” Cloud said, eyeing Zack until he reluctantly returned the stolen good. 

“Or maybe he considered Sephiroth a threat too,” Fuujin whispered. 

“Maybe both,” Auron said. 

“Well, whatever the case, he did us a huge favor. So now that Sephiroth’s gone, Fantasy will be reopening next Friday. Until then, rest up,” Cid barked, and led the exodus from the room. 

“But won’t Sephiroth come back?” Sora asked. 

“Vincent said not to worry. He meant not to worry about Sephiroth. Meaning if my brother isn’t already dead, he will be soon,” Cloud said. 

* * *

Sephiroth’s body was found the next day, and life returned to normal. The twins found themselves falling back into the old routine of school and work. However, the job was taking its toll, and first Sora, then Vanitas quit. The staff members of Fantasy were sad to see them go, even Cid, but they’d never really expected the boys to stay. And besides, they were only planning on staying in business for a year or two more before they all moved on to brighter and better things. For the point of Fantasy had always been to bring their fantasies to life: whether it be the fantasy of being a voice actress, or a bartender, or an athlete, or a nurse, or any of the various dreams they had.


	23. Give Thanks: Age - 21

“Dad, come on. It’s time to go!” Ventus was calling. Eraqus sighed. He really did not want to do this. But the kids insisted. As did his nephew and all his miscreants, and the boys. He could hardly deny them all. Which meant that, like it or not, he had to go attend Thanksgiving dinner. 

It’s not that the dinner itself wasn’t good; it was. And not just good- divine, scrumptious, mouth-watering, delectable. And every year Vexen did a new theme for the dishes, choosing a particular region’s cooking, or dishes from countries that were major producers of a certain good, or popular foods from minority groups cooked as they would be by their originators. It was amazing and educational, and followed by desserts made by Lexaeus. Every year he held himself in check and only baked two desserts so as to prevent overindulgence caused by sampling everything he made, but most attendees still complained they would need to be rolled away from the table. Not in Xemnas’s hearing of course. It was dangerous to indicate that they wouldn’t be in tip top condition at any given moment. 

No, the problem lay not in the dinner; it lay in oh so many other things. 

First off, there was the fact that Eraqus had never quite managed to grasp what was the big deal about American Thanksgiving. Even if one ignored the questionable reasoning for the holiday, it seemed odd to him that the holiday was celebrated in a debacle of gluttony. And then there was the football game, and it was all just so strange. He supposed he’d gotten that from his mother. 

Another thing Eraqus disliked about Thanksgiving was that he spent it with the Yakuza 13 leaders every year. From the start he’d known they weren’t really such bad people. But they still were merciless and evil, no matter how they treated those they cared about. He disliked them being around his children- when the kids were young he worried about the influence such role models would have on them, and now that they were older… Oddly enough, it was Terra who worried him least at these events. Terra had taken after him it seemed, and would smile, be polite, share a few jokes, but keep his guard up. Aqua and Ven on the other hand… He may have accepted the fact that Aqua was dating Zexion, and he knew his daughter’s fiancee was good to her, but he still wished she had found some other guy to fall for. Someone who wasn’t so questionable. Still, she was a grown woman and could make her own choices. Ventus, meanwhile, also had made a less than pleasing romantic choice. It wasn’t that Eraqus had a problem with his son being gay. Ventus was his beloved son, regardless of his sexuality. The problem lay with his boyfriend, or rather in the way his boyfriend treated him. Vanitas was not the most dedicated lover. He had been fickle in past relationships, and now he seemed to be toying with Ven in the way he’d go off and do whatever and then come crawling back to Ven, who, good-hearted child that he was, always forgave Vanitas and welcomed him back. All in all, Eraqus found it hard to feel thankful when the holiday was such a family mess. 

Another issue Eraqus had was that they never celebrated the holiday on Thanksgiving day itself. They didn’t even always host it in November. One year, they’d even held two Thanksgivings, since they had one in January and then around September, the thirteen had decided on a whim that it seemed the right time for Thanksgiving again, leading to the second. It wasn’t that Eraqus didn’t understand why. After all, predictably having all of the leaders of the Yakuza 13 all in one place was a little risky, which was also why very few people knew when and where they had their weekly meetings, and why Xemnas periodically changed the when and/ or the where. It also allowed people like Lexaeus and Axel and Xion, who were all still fairly close to their families, to go home for the holiday. It was how the Yakuza 13 celebrated most holidays, and it gave Eraqus a headache, just like most of the things they did. 

But the main reason that Eraqus disliked Thanksgiving was that even with all their secrecy, his brother Xehanort still had a tendency to find out about family gatherings like this, and there was nothing Xehanort liked more than spoiling good times. He had a nasty habit of showing up and making everyone uncomfortable, or sending a card with such warm tidings that it could only be a threat, or occasionally he left things on the doorstep. No one had ever liked Xehanort’s little appearances, and Eraqus hated them all the more now that they sent Ventus scurrying off to the laundry room to curl into a quivering ball and hide. His son never spoke of what had happened when he was in his uncle’s care, but it clearly had had the kind of impact that Xehanort would be most pleased by, as Ventus was horribly traumatized. 

With a sigh Eraqus picked up the container of miso soup he was bringing to the dinner. Despite Vexen going all out, it was still expected that everyone bring at least one dish. Most people brought their favorite foods, as they’d most likely be taking the entire dish home as well. Eraqus always brought miso soup, since it felt right to him, and also he knew for a fact that Xemnas had a less-than-adventuresome palette and liked to see familiar foods on the table. 

Outside, Ventus, Terra, and Terra’s girlfriend Cinderella all awaited him at the car. Eraqus joined them and buckled up, but even as he turned the keys in the ignition, he still hoped for some emergency call that would prevent his attentdence. 

Eraqus really didn’t want to go. 

* * *

Vanitas was glad everyone had finally arrived. He’d been fasting all day to prepare for this meal, even though Vexen always scolded him about how unhealthy it was to fast and then binge. Vexen scolded them about a lot of things. By now, Vanitas was a pro at not listening to him, or to anything he didn’t want to hear, really. Needless to say, Vanitas was very hungry, and the tantalizing smells from the kitchen weren’t helping. And also finally getting to the meal meant a reprieve from getting his butt kicked at Mega Mash Men. Sora and Kairi had double-teamed him, which totally wasn’t fair. And when Ven had finally arrived, Ven had only laughed and said it served him right. Ven had been kind enough to offer to help, but once he joined as player 4 he simply watched as Sora and Kairi took out Vanitas and then duked it out with the other two, often winning because even double teaming Sora and Kairi took a lot of damage dealing with Vanitas. He wanted to call Ven a jerk, but he was feeling charitable today. Also if he fought with Ven then Ven wouldn’t want to spend the night. 

After they sat down and Luxord said the most excruciatingly long grace ever, they prolonged Vanitas’s hungry agony by going around and saying things they were thankful for. 

“Well, I’ll go first,” Xigbar announced. “I am thankful for the enhanced sights on my new baby. I mean, talk about sniping. I could take out an ant from 500 yards with that thing.” 

“On purpose?” Terra asked. Xigbar gave him a withering look. 

“Well I’m thankful for that new market down on the east side, because otherwise I might not have found the right spices for this meal,” Vexen cut in. 

“I’m thankful for racecars,” Ephemer piped up. “And for my mom and dad and my big brother Sora.” Roxas nudged him, and he added with an eye roll. “And Vanitas, even if he is a big stinker and I don’t like him much except when we’re being mean, er, friends with, Riku. And Mickey, even if he cries all the time and can’t play with me. And Kairi is kinda cool too I guess.” 

As everyone laughed, Demyx extended his arm above his head. “Oo, oo! Me! Me! Can I go next?” he begged, and Xemnas sighed. Demyx took that as a yes. He whipped an ukulele out, and began strumming. “I am thankful for music,” he sang, meriting a few claps, mostly from the two-year old Mickey. 

“I am thankful for ear plugs,” Xaldin muttered. Demyx had spent their most recent parenting night practicing several different ways to sing that one line. 

No one volunteered to be next, so Xemnas took over appointing the order. 

“Luxord?” he asked. 

“I am thankful for this day, and this meal, and this time we can all spend together. And for smokin’ hot babes with big boobs and blackjack and poker and roulette and money. Amen.” 

Xemnas pointed to Saix next, who was shaking his head at Luxord. 

“I am thankful that Axel actually turned in his paperwork on time yesterday.” 

“Well I’m thankful you came through on your promise to finally watch Great Victor 5 with me, and that you actually admitted to liking it,” Axel replied. 

“I did not say I liked it," Saix replied stiffly. "I said it ‘was decent’.” 

“Which means you liked it,” Axel countered. 

As Saix sighed and waved a hand in defeat, Xemnas moved to point at the next person, who was Zexion. 

“No need to ask what you’re thankful for, since you’ll just say your girlfriend, and she’ll say you so we can skip you two little lovebirds,” Xemnas said snidely. 

“Actually I was thinking that I am thankful that Luxord has yet to give a sermon on unmarried couples living together,” Zexion said lightly. Aqua nodded her agreement. 

“Now that you mention it…” Luxord began, but Xemnas silenced him with a look and moved to point to Sora. 

“I’m thankful that I’ve finished my lib eds.” 

Kairi was thankful for her granny’s continued health, and Eraqus thankful for his children’s and nephews’ happiness and health. It was hard to be certain if Xemnas was included as one of Eraqus’s nephews or if he just meant Sora and Vanitas. Lexaeus was thankful for his team’s victory in the recent finals of the local hockey league, and Terra for everyone still being alive to meet like this. Cinderella was thankful for her parents lightening up and allowing her to travel without the security brigade this year. Everyone nodded at this, since last year things had been quite memorable when she had come to a family gathering and the thirteen had had to overpower her security forces to avoid being shot. Most of the thirteen had been pleased though, since it meant they were well known if a foreign princess’s security detail recognized them on sight. 

Roxas was thankful for successfully enrolling Ephemer in private school, while Xion was thankful for her family’s dojo's continued success, despite the change in leadership to her sister Mulan and her husband Shang. Xemnas’s finger swung Vanitas’s way. It was his turn. 

Vanitas looked around. What was he thankful for? The answer was everyone here. But he could hardly say something sappy like that. He supposed since Xemnas had indicated that being thankful for one’s significant other was taboo, he could rebel and say he was thankful for Ven. But that was embarrassing. He could irritate Zexion and say he was thankful he’d been the one to get Aqua’s first kiss, but that might also lose him Ven’s good graces. As he looked around, he noticed Terra. Terra with his lovely muscles that Vanitas envied. Terra wasn’t really Vanitas’s type, but man was he good looking. 

“I’m thankful uncle Eraqus has such attractive offspring,” Vanitas said finally. This prompted some choking as many people were more than a little shocked. He could see Ven blushing. 

“Do I need to murder you?” Eraqus mused. He was visibly confused, as he had been part of raising Vanitas, and also Vanitas was family, but at the same time his instincts screamed that his children needed his protection. 

“Vanny, stop teasing,” Aqua chided. As always, she didn’t take anything he said seriously. Back when he’d had a crush on her, that had been heartbreaking, but now it was comforting. 

Meanwhile, Terra had noticed Vanitas looking his way, and began flexing. He was proud of his muscles, as he worked hard to maintain them. It had come as a surprise when he’d declared a major in earth science rather than something more related to body building. Next to him, Cinderella sighed in appreciation. As a matter of fact, others were looking on too. Including Axel. Saix, noticing his lover’s gaze, began flexing too, proving that Terra was not the only one at the table with bulging biceps. 

“Oh, is this a competition?” Lexaeus asked. 

“I’m in,” Xaldin stated, putting a hand down on the table. Sometimes it was hard to tell that the two of them were good friends, since they could be so competitive. 

“If it’s a competition then Xemnas should join in too. What do you say old man?” Xigbar suggested. With a sigh, Xemnas nodded. Larxene, who was drooling at the prospect of their flexing, counted to three, and Xaldin, Xemnas, and Lexaeus all flexed at once, all of them ripping out of their shirts as if it were an anime. Terra and Saix, not to be outdone, followed suit, and Cinderella began to giggle. 

“I am not cleaning that up,” Eraqus announced, as such chores tended to fall to him for some reason, even when it wasn’t in his own house. 

“Woah, Kairi, didn’t we have to, um, you wanted to, ahhhh…” Sora said, mortified, and leapt to his feet to lead a mildly amused Kairi from the room. 

“Daddy, why don’t you do that too?” Ephemer asked, and Xion patted Roxas’s back as he hung his head. He could outrun, out jump, and out climb any of the others, but he had lightweight muscles that were not particularly bulky. Even if he flexed, hardly any muscle would be seen. 

Meanwhile, Vexen was seething. “Once I perfect my muscle supplements, I too shall be able to do that,” he muttered. As per usual, everyone ignored him except for Zexion, who snorted. 

“Brains are better than brawn,” he said derisively, though he had an arm up to try and cover Aqua’s eyes. 

Demyx leapt to his feet. “Are we all going topless then?” he asked, and ripped his shirt off, strutting a few steps so that everyone could admire him. No one did. 

“Vanitas, what have you done?” Xion asked. Vanitas didn’t see how this was his fault. How could he possibly have known that a provocative comment would lead to so much chaos? 

“Come on everyone. This is a topless party now,” Demyx called out. As Roxas and Xion were nearest, he reached out to help them out of their shirts. Xion calmly knocked him out, and received a chorus of thank you’s. Zexion gave up on covering Aqua’s eye and decided to divert her attention by kissing her instead. Lexaeus and Xaldin had decided that their muscle mass was too similar and that they needed to prove who was stronger with an arm wrestling tournament. As the two of them tried to force each other’s arms down, Xemnas, Saix, and Terra stood by to challenge the winner. Xion also joined the line. Larxene was acting as the judge, but she was too busy ogling the contestants to notice any cheating. 

Xigbar was not one to allow so much tomfoolery without partaking of some shenanigans of his own, so he too stripped off his shirt, and strolled over to Aqua. Leaning over, he asked “Hey Aqua, wanna count my scars?” 

Aqua barely glanced at him before replying. “You still don’t have as many scars as Leon has belts.” 

“Aqua, we really should get going,” Zexion said, glaring murderously at Xigbar. 

“Why? I’ve seen more impressive abs, I lived at Fantasy for a few months, remember? The guys there are all pretty fit too. Compared to them, this is nothing.” A shadow crossed Zexion’s face, possibly meaning he was making a mental note to murder all the men at Fantasy. He had no idea that the person Aqua was mostly referring to was in fact Tifa. Though the guys were indeed pretty buff, none were quite as well muscled as Tifa. 

“Besides, muscles aren’t all that attractive to me,” Aqua added as she glanced over at the arm-wrestling match as Xion was battling the reigning champion, Lexaeus. Terra was now the judge, as Larxene was busy stuffing napkins up her nose to quell a nosebleed she’d gotten. Judging by the amount of used bloody napkins next to her, it was a monstrous one. Zexion was glad enough to hear this that he forgave the male members of Fantasy, who at the moment all felt quite lucky all of a sudden. Which was odd, since only moments ago they’d all felt a shiver run down their spine. 

“Well obviously, if you’re still dating that guy,” Vanitas said, ruining Zexion’s momentary good mood. 

“Even without muscles, I am still more than capable of killing you,” Zexion reminded Vanitas icily. Vanitas retreated to hide behind Ven. 

“No killing him please,” Aqua said to her fiance, though it was unclear whether she meant Ventus, who as Vanitas’s shield might be collateral damage, or Vanitas himself. 

Zexion heaved an immense sigh. “Fine. I’ll let the little punk go. This time.” 

Vanitas resisted the urge to stick his tongue out and further agitate his dad. 

After a while, Vexen reminded them that the food was getting cold, and they all sat down, except Demyx who was left lying where he’d fallen. 

“Well I’m thankful for half-naked men,” Larxene announced. Terra, Saix, Xaldin, Xemnas, and Xigbar all blushed crimson, but Lexaeus stood up and began flexing as an encore. 

“Lexaeus!” Xion protested. 

“Sit down!” Luxord growled. 

“Save it for later, hon,” Larxene said with a wink. Lexaeus grinned at her, and the table burst out into a chorus of “gross!” and “ew!” and other such expressions of disgust. 

“Roses,” Marluxia said. He’d spent the entire time staring out the window at his garden. 

“Pardon?” Xemnas asked. Everyone assumed Marluxia was thinking of something he needed to get for his garden. Mulch or something. 

“I. am. thankful. for. roses,” Marluxia said, enunciating clearly. 

“Oh, right,” Xemnas said vaguely, and began spooning food onto his plate, signaling they should all eat, despite the fact that he and Ventus had yet to state what they were thankful for. 

After they were all bloated beyond all reason from overstuffing their stomachs, everyone broke up into smaller groups to enjoy themselves before leaving. Some went down to watch movies, others to play board games. Vanitas managed to convince Ven to sneak off to his room together for a quick make-out session. Demyx did finally wake up, and gorged himself on what hadn’t already been eaten. Eventually everyone went back to their homes (though Ven did indeed stay the night), and life went back to normal. 

In subsequent years, arm wrestling tournaments would become a family tradition. Xion was banned after the second, as she won every time, which prompted her to invite Mulan and Shang to a family event to participate. The 13 got a rude awakening as they had assumed Xion was just a freak of nature, but not only did Mulan beat them all, in a final match for the title of most awesome, she even beat Xion. 

Furthermore, every year Xemnas and Eraqus would challenge one another, and every year they upped the stakes, and somehow the stakes they added became mandatory for all. It kept building year by year, until finally it was declared too extreme when contestants had to arm wrestle while standing en pointe on a slackline, balancing a soccer ball on their heads and a feather on their noses and thumb wrestling with their free hands, all while hula-hooping. Victory could only be achieved if one kept their balance and did not lose any articles they were balancing and pinned both the opponent’s arm and thumb and did not drop the hula hoop. It was completely impossible, which was what lead to the end. It was never determined whether Xemnas or Eraqus was the winner, nor would it be as all such sports were banned from family events. 

But that one Thanksgiving that started it all would be talked about for a long time, and in their memories it would outlive the tournaments.


	24. Just One More Night: Age - 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warnings:** Some gore at the beginning, Ven has some bad nightmares yo. You can skip it by starting at the paragraph starting with “All of a sudden” (marked in bold font). There is also way too much relationship angst and melodrama but it ends in a way that can hopefully be considered fluffy.

Ven was ten years old, strapped to a cold metal operating table with lights shining down into his eyes, blinding him. Once his eyes adjusted he could see a mirror hanging from the ceiling reflecting his frightened face and naked torso back at him. Ven squirmed, yanking at the bonds that held his wrists and ankles in place to no avail. 

“None of that now.” A cold voice said. 

Ven froze, petrified as the yellow eyes of Xehanort drifted into view. 

“That’s a good boy.” He soothed. “Stay like that and we’ll begin your lesson.” He raised a latex glove covered hand, a scalpel held tightly in his fingers. 

Ven wanted to scream, to run, to do _anything_ but he couldn’t move, it was like his body had turned to ice. All he could do was watch as the scalpel descended and pierced the skin above his collarbone. Dark red blood pooled up and Ven screamed as Xehanort dragged the scalpel down to his waist, leaving a burning pain in its wake. Xehanort then made two cuts perpendicular to the first at the top and bottom, leaving lines of crimson and pain. 

“Now let's open you up and see what’s inside, hmm?” Xehanort said, detached, like a teacher merely lecturing. 

Xehanort pulled the flaps of Ven’s skin open and in the mirror Ven could see his internal organs working and glistening in blood. 

“Now pay close attention Ven.” Xehanort lectured. “This here is your liver.” He pointed with his scalpel. “It lies between your diaphragm and your stomach.” 

Ven bit his lip in an attempt not to puke as Xehanort continued pointing out various organs and their functions. He bit his lip so hard it began to bleed, choking him as it ran into his mouth. 

“Of course, the most important organ in the chest is the heart.” Xehanort continued, tapping the bones of Ven’s ribcage. “If I were to cut open your heart, what do you think we would see?” Xehanort’s face loomed into Ven’s view, and all he could focus on was on Xehanort’s cold, yellow eyes. “Do you think it would cause you to wake up?” Ven face twisted into confusion. “Wake up Ven! Come on, wake up!” 

**All of a sudden it was dark and someone was shaking Ven.** He snapped his eyes open to find yellow eyes looking at him. Without a thought Ven pushed the man off of him, shouting “No!” 

There was a loud thunk as Vanitas hit the floor. For a moment all Ven could do was lie in his bed and breathe while Vanitas groaned in pain. The stress from finals must really be getting to him if he had a dream about Xehanort. Taking a few more breaths, Ven let the threads of the dream waft away. It wasn’t real and Xemnas had promised that Ven would never be forced to live with Xehanort again, and he had kept his word. 

Once Ven had gathered himself, he peeked over the bed to see an angry Vanitas lying on the floor and glaring at him. “What the hell Ven?” Vanitas growled. “What was that for?” 

Ven studied Vanitas’s eyes before answering, how could he ever mistake them for Xehanort’s? There was always a heat to them, whether it was the fires of anger like now, or a comforting warmth when he was with the ones he loved. Xehanort’s eyes only contained cold and darkness. 

“I’m sorry.” Ven murmured. “You startled me.” 

Vanitas ‘humphed’ as he got up. “Well if this is the thanks I get for waking you from a nightmare” he climbed back onto his side of the bed, “then I’ll be taking all the covers in payment.” Vanitas did indeed yank all the covers away from Ven and wrapped them around himself in several swift motions then laid down with his back to Ven. 

Ven smiled at Vanitas’s childishness and laid back down, snuggling up against his boyfriend’s back. “Have I ever told you I love your eyes?” Ventus hummed into Vanitas’s ear. 

Vanitas curled up tighter into the blankets. “If you’re trying to get the covers back, it’s not going to work.” Was his reply 

“It’s true though.” Ven said, getting up onto one elbow. “I also love that your most ticklish spot is right below your heart.” 

Ven could see Vanitas roll his eyes. “Aren’t you just a sap tonight.” 

_I love **you**_. It was what Ven wanted to say next, but he was afraid that if he said that Vanitas would run. Run away and leave him alone. Ven carefully tucked that thought away and said instead. “And I love the way you blush only for me. Just like you’re doing now.” He tapped Vanitas’s cheek in emphasis. 

“I’m not blushing, it’s just warm in your room.” Vanitas growled. 

“Oh?” Ven raised an eyebrow. “Is that why you took all the covers then?” 

There was an explosion of covers as Vanitas kicked them off and Ven found himself on his back while Vanitas straddled him and held his hands at Ven’s shoulders. 

“Do you want to know what I love about you?” Vanitas purred. “I love that when I say jump,” he pressed his cold fingers against Ventus’s neck, causing him to flinch, “you say ‘how high?’ I love that when I say breathe,” Vanitas leaned down and bit down into the sensitive spot in Ven’s neck, causing him to gasp. “You breathe. And I love that-” Vanitas began to say as he sat up again, but stopped when he caught Ven’s eyes. 

Ven didn’t know what Vanitas saw there, but it seemed to make him lose his train of thought, for his face grew gentle and his voice soft. “I love your kindness.” He trailed a hand from Ventus’s shoulder and rested it over his heart. “Your willingness to help the ones you love even if it may be detrimental to yourself.” 

Ven couldn’t stop a small smile from forming. “Why Vanitas, how sweet of you to say!” 

Vanitas frowned and leaned down again to place a small kiss on Ven’s forehead. “Go to sleep.” He muttered. “I’m tired and you need your rest for finals week.” He rolled off Ventus and pulled the covers up, leaving some for Ven. 

“All right.” Ven mumbled taking the covers and letting his eyes drift closed. He had no more dreams for the rest of the night. 

* * *

The next morning, after a breakfast of cinnamon rolls that Hercules had brought for the apartment, Ven found Vanitas packing the few belongings he had brought. Ven tried to hide the disappointment in his voice when he asked. “Going already?” 

“Yeah.” Vanitas responded, checking a shirt tag to see whether it was his or Ven’s. “A friend managed to snag me another job, but I have to leave right away.” 

“Okay.” Ven pretended not to notice that Vanitas hadn’t looked at him even once as he spoke, or that his shoulders were slightly tense, which happened whenever he told a lie he didn’t want discovered. Ventus never understood why the Yakuza 13 thought Vanitas had such a good poker face, he and Sora could read him like an open book. “Do you know when you’ll be back?” Ven asked. 

Vanitas shrugged, glancing at Ven. “It’s pretty far away, I’m not sure I’ll have time to visit.” 

“Alright.” Ven said quietly. “Stay in touch.” 

Vanitas nodded as he shoved a few things into his backpack and left Ven’s room. As he passed Ven he smirked. “Don’t miss me too much.” He gave Ventus a quick peck on the lips before exiting the apartment. 

Once Vanitas was gone, Ven concentrated on breathing as he set water to boiling for tea and gathered his notebooks onto the kitchen table so he could study. It was Saturday, but all his roommates were currently gone, preparing for their finals in other places, so Ven figured he could use the larger space. When everything was set up though, Ven just sat at the table, hands curled around the warm mug and staring into space. After a while Ven groaned and slammed his head against the table. 

_‘Idiot.’_ He thought. _‘Moron, fool, imbecile.’_ Ven continued calling himself every insult he could think of then squeezed his eyes shut, letting the tears flow. Why did he let this happen every time? He knew Vanitas cheated on him, he knew that Vanitas would leave, but every time Vanitas came back he held up the hope that it would be the time he’d stay. That Vanitas would just be with _him_. But every time his heart and hope were shattered. How long could he keep doing this? How long could he keep repairing his broken heart before there were too many pieces for him to put back together? 

Ven didn’t know and was afraid what would become of him if he couldn’t. 

* * *

As soon as Vanitas got in his car he took off so fast his tires squealed. His grip on the steering wheel was tight and he kept a little too much pressure on the gas pedal. He didn’t know where he was going and he didn’t care. He just needed to get away from home, get away from Ven. 

_I love you_. 

The words had been on edge of his lips when he saw how much love and trust Ven had looked at him with last night. But he couldn’t say it. Wouldn’t say it. If he had stayed any longer with Ven there was no telling when the words would come out of their own accord and he couldn’t let that happen. 

So he drove. 

After a few hours Vanitas's mind cleared enough to realize where he was. He was in a suburb on the other side of the city. There was a girl he had once dated who lived here and would probably let him crash for a night or two, but he had told Ven he was going far away, so he kept driving. The only stops he made were for food and for gas. Eventually he did stop for an extended break. It was in the parking lot of an abandoned gas station in the middle of nowhere. 

He climbed up onto the top of his car, sitting down and waiting, watching the movement of the sun. He almost wished for a cigarette, but he had given up that habit shortly after he started when Ventus said he couldn’t stand kissing him anymore. So instead he simply sat there, lightly drumming his fingers against the rooftop. 

When the sun began to just touch the horizon he grabbed the sketchpad beside him, already open to a fresh page. Placing it in his lap he began to draw with a piece of charcoal. He knew most people didn’t think of charcoal drawings when they thought of art, but it was honestly his favorite style of drawing. He loved the way the charcoal felt between his fingers, blackening them with its dust and the deep shadows he could create with the coal. So he drew the sunset, ignoring the colorful reds and and oranges of the sky and instead focusing on the soft shadows of hills and the stark silhouettes of the occasional tree. 

Vanitas stopped drawing when the sun completely dipped below the horizon and flipped the page, careful not to smudge his picture. The sketchpad was then set aside while he set up his water colors. Once things were to his liking he began painting, trying to capture the exact color tones of the sky. He started with the line of red-orange near the horizon then moved on to the yellow that was similar to Ven’s hair in summertime. Vanitas shook his head, rattling that thought loose and went to the next color. The yellow wasn’t quite right but he could come back to it. Next was the light blue which he managed to color without incident. After that was dark blue, the color Ven’s eyes became when he was upset. The color his eyes had been this morning when Vanitas had left. 

Vanitas closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He could do this. He could paint a picture without thinking of Ven. But when he opened his eyes again all he could think about was how Ven’s favorite time of day was twilight and how more than once he had found his boyfriend outside just watching the colors of the sky change. 

Frustrated, Vanitas dropped the brush he was using back in its place and shoved his sketchpad aside. Bringing up his knees, Vanitas placed his head against them. 

_Just stop messing around and tell Ven you love him already!_ Sora’s voice echoed in Vanitas’s mind. 

“Easy for you to say.” Vanitas mumbled to himself. 

Sora didn’t get it. And how could he? Everybody loved Sora and he made friends that would do anything for him wherever he went. Not Vanitas though. Most of the people he met didn’t want to stick around. Usually it didn’t bother him, but in weak moments like this Vanitas was all too aware of the people who had said they were friends to his face then stabbed him in the back. Friends Sora had made but didn’t stick around because of his “weird brother.” And it scared him. It scared him that Ven would do the same. So he swore to himself he wouldn’t get attached, that when Ventus decided to leave him he could respond with a shrug and a ‘good riddance.’ 

But it didn’t work that way. Oh, he had tried. Messing around with other people and keeping himself from jumping every time Ven called. Some of the jobs he did he had taken because he knew he wouldn’t be able to see Ventus for awhile. None of it had worked. He kept finding himself returning to Ven because he couldn’t live without his smile, his laugh, his gentle touch. Every time Vanitas returned to Ventus he found himself falling for him a little harder and saying ‘I love you’ would be the final coup. Saying that would mean he was well and truly attached to Ven and couldn’t stand there dispassionately when he finally decided to leave him. 

Screwing his eyes shut Vanitas tilted his head back and opened his eyes to the night sky, letting the tears slide down his face. 

He needed to get a job. Not necessarily because he needed or wanted the money. When he had finally convinced his parents that he wasn’t planning on attending college anymore they had transferred the rest of his tuition they had put aside into his bank account. No, what he needed was a distraction. He needed a new routine that would keep him too busy to think of Ven. New people to talk and laugh with that didn’t know who he was and who his friends were. Something to keep him from falling for just a little longer. 

Vanitas stayed out until the sky had turned completely dark and the stars were fully out. There was little light pollution so he could pick out various constellations that Zexion had shown him and Sora as kids. He tried to remember the stories his parents had told him belonged with the constellations, and made up ones of his own where he couldn’t. When he couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer he crawled into the backseat of his car and fell asleep. 

* * *

It was the middle of July when Vanitas returned home. The city was home, not just because of Ventus, but because of Sora- Vanitas knew that whatever happened his twin would always take him in. Even with that said Vanitas’s first stop was Ven’s apartment, it had been several days since Ven last texted him and he was worried, not that he would admit that to him. 

Vanitas knocked on Ven’s apartment door and there are a few moments before the door opened and as soon as Ven saw who it was he let out a flat, “No.” 

Startled, Vanitas only managed to say “What?” 

“No, you can’t come in Vanitas.” Ven clarified. 

Vanitas felt a spike of anxiety but pushed it down. “Why not?” 

“Because I’m breaking up with you.” Ventus stated calmly 

There was a feeling lightheadedness and the sound of blood rushing in Vanitas’s ears, he was tempted to ask Ven to repeat himself, but he knew what he heard. Instead he choked out a “Is that so?” 

At that moment Riku wandered into Vanitas’s line of vision, carrying cardboard boxes, “Hey Ven where do you want- Oh.” Riku cut himself off at the sight of them. Ven turned his head to look and Vanitas gave Riku a death glare. “Nevermind, I’ll just, uh…. Bye.” Riku stuttered and retreated. After a few moments the music that had been playing in the background became louder. 

Ven looked back at Vanitas. “Yes, I’m breaking up with you Vanitas. I’m ending this.” 

“Fine.” Vanitas spat, standing as tall he could while Ven stared back at him unflinchingly. “I see how it is. Good-bye Ventus.” He turned and walked away, barely catching Ven’s own good-bye. 

* * *

By the time Vanitas actually returned to his household home his temporary anger had faded. The current parents were there to greet him, but he feigned not feeling well to get out of having a conversation about how he’s been and where’d he go. It didn’t take much to fake. He headed up to his room and collapsed into bed then stared up at the ceiling, counting the bumps in the popcorn texture to keep his mind off of Ven. He knew that at some point he’d have to think about how Ven had dumped him and come to terms with it, but right now he just wanted to avoid that flood of emotions. He stayed like that until Sora sneaked into his room, quietly opening the door and tip-toeing to his bedside then dropping the act when he noticed that Vanitaswas awake. 

“Hey.” Sora said softly. “Father said you’re weren’t feeling well and asked me to check on you.” 

Vanitas sat up and looked at Sora. “Ventus dumped me.” He said without preamble. Despite knowing Sora was his brother and his bestest friend in the whole world, Vanitas half expected Sora to say ‘I told you so’ considering how many times he’d warned Vanitas that what he was doing wasn’t right. 

But this was Sora, his brother and someone who would never intentionally make someone feel bad. So instead he sat on the bed next to Vanitas and pulled him in for a hug. “I’m so sorry Vanitas, I know how much you liked him.” 

At the comforting touch of his brother Vanitas broke down, wrapping his arms around Sora, making fists into his T-shirt and started to cry. 

* * *

Ven felt… different. He couldn’t say good or bad, but different worked. Not dating Vanitas anymore, cutting him out of that part of his life left him feeling weird even several weeks later. Ven took another sip of his tea as he stared out the window in the living room of his new shared house at the pouring rain. Overall Ven felt relief that Vanitas is gone, that he didn’t have to stress about where his boyfriend was or what (who) he was doing. 

Ven settled further into the plush chair he was sitting on, taking another sip of tea and barely suppressing a frown. It didn’t taste quite right- when Vanitas made tea it always seemed to come out perfect, even if he was just pouring hot water over tea bags. 

With a sigh Ven sunk down the chair, chin hitting his chest and holding his mug on his abdomen. He should really stop thinking about Vanitas, but no matter how much Ven would try to convince himself otherwise, Ven still missed him. He missed Vanitas’s oddly comforting presence, the easy conversation, how he always had a way of cheering Ven up. 

The wind picked up and the rain began to beat harder against the window and Ven thought back to the last major rainstorm he had spent with Vanitas. They had been caught unawares in the middle of a park on the way back to Ven’s apartment from who knows where. After the initial surprise they both took off running for a nearby pine tree, taking shelter under it’s long branches. While Ventus futilely tried to wring water out of his clothes from the sudden downpour, Vanitas laughed quietly to himself, holding his hand out to feel the rain as it hit his palm. 

When Ven looked up he found himself caught at the site of Vanitas, hands growing still as he stared. Stared at Vanitas whose eyes were merrily watching the sky as the rain poured while occasionally flicking his gaze back down to follow others in the park who were running through the rain. His smile was so very genuine, lacking any of his usual arrogance or sense of deceit. 

Vanitas finally turned to Ventus, “Do you-” 

Ven kissed Vanitas hard, cutting him off, then pulled away just enough to whisper, “You’re beautiful.” He waited long enough just to see Vanitas blush before going in for another kiss. 

With a firm shake of his head, Ventus rattled that memory away, sitting up straight again and picking up the book he had sitting on the sidetable next him, diving into the story to hopefully distract himself from Vanitas and from the tree they had kissed under that was no longer there, fallen from the storm. 

* * *

Several months had passed since Ven had broken up with him and Vanitas still hurt. Things were better than they were initially, he had gotten a job at the daycare center to try and keep himself busy. He was only supposed to be there as a temporary hire until they could fill in the position with someone more qualified, but it turned out Vanitas was good at wrangling kids and learned fast so they kept him on. He’d been staying at their house, not really anywhere else he would want to go, and Sora and the changing parents always meant he had someone to bother and keep his mind busy. So after awhile, Vanitas started to think that maybe he was starting to get over Ven. 

But Vanitas was not over Ven. That was made very clear to him when he realized that Ven was coming to family Thanksgiving (actually in November this year) and that he would have to be in the same house as him for a prolonged period of time. He spent an hour in his bedroom before people would start arriving just pacing and trying to psych himself up. Despite all that, seeing Ven come through the door was like a punch to the stomach and then a feeling of nausea as guilt, what-ifs, and want swirled through his brain. But Vanitas was good at playing pretend, he could act like he was fine, long enough to get through dinner and then hide in some private corner until everyone left. Or at least, that was the plan, but then _he_ showed up. 

Xehanort. 

Nobody had expected it, when the doorbell rang Xemnas had gotten up to answer it as everyone else continued to eat. Vanitas had thought maybe one of the neighbors had decided to show up; they were occasionally invited to the festivities and Gene often showed up ‘fashionably’ late with some weird item or another he had found on his travels. 

But then Xemnas walked back into the dining room with Xehanort not far behind him, hunched with age but still fierce in his aura and immediately the room went eerily silent. Light-hearted banter and the sound of food being eaten snuffed out like a candle, even Mickey went quiet. 

“As you can see, we were in the middle of dinner.” Xemnas said in a strained voice. “But there is always room for you.” 

“Excellent.” Xehanort said with a grin as Xemnas guided him to the head of the table where he had formerly been sitting. “Isn’t it always such a pleasure to see family, Xemnas?” 

“Of course.” Xemnas answered stiffly, though everyone had been shoulder to shoulder just a few minutes ago, there was somehow enough space for Xemnas to stand beside Xehanort’s chair, where he methodically filled a plate for his father then smoothly placed it in front of him like a well trained butler. 

“No need to wait on ceremony.” Xehanort said presumptuously. “Go ahead and eat.” He then began to eat himself, properly using a fork and knife in each hand. 

Slowly the sounds of food being consumed returned, the quiet clinking of cutlery and chewing of food seeming to echo in the still air of the room. Vanitas had already been having trouble eating before, the tenseness of being in the same room as Ven since the break-up affecting his appetite, but now he found it almost impossible. But he forced a fork from his plate to his mouth, all the food tasting like ash. It was better to not attract Xehanort’s attention, bad things would happen if he did, and not eating would certainly put his grandfather’s gaze on him. 

All around him, Vanitas’ family was tense, his parents stealthily had hands on hidden weapons, if they had them. Terra’s muscles bulged from where he was unconsciously flexing them and both Aqua and Eraqus sat with their backs almost unnaturally straight. But Vanitas paid no heed to them. He had a fleeting thought about Sora and how glad he was that Kairi had an unexpected appointment and couldn’t show, but the rest of his focus was on Ven. 

From the corner of his eye Vanitas could see Ven where he was across the table and a few chairs to the left, he was hunched in on himself as he slowly ate Vexen’s award winning cheesy potatoes. Xehanort showing up put everyone on edge, but he always seemed to affect Ven the worst, the sight of him lingering over Ven’s mood for several days at the worst. But right now, Ven seemed fine, his breathing was even and his eyes stayed focused on his plate, no sign of panic. Vanitas relaxed fractionally, perhaps this would be one of the times Ven was okay. 

Slowly focusing back on his own plate Vanitas realized with horror that he had eaten the disgusting green bean casserole that Sora had put on his plate earlier as a joke and quickly sipped at his wine to get rid of the lumpy texture from his mouth, listening with only half an ear as Xehanort made conversation. 

“So Ventus,” Xehanort’s voice cut through the air like a knife, “I hear you’re officially starting veterinary school, putting what I taught you to use. Though I’m sure I could find a better place for those skills.” 

Vanitas stiffened, the grip on the stem of his glass tightening before he slowly lowered it to the table, wondering how he could run this conversation off course without being obvious. 

Ventus twitched at the sound of Xehanort addressing him, shrinking in on himself just a little more before lifting his face up to look at Xehanort, expression completely neutral. “I’m fine with what I’m doing, thanks.” He answered, voice flat. 

Xehanort looked like he was about to respond but he was cut off by Xemnas. “Father, Lexaeus is baking a souffle, and I know you would hate to see your favorite dessert ruined because we chatted too long.” 

“Too true, too true.” Xehanort answered lightly. “Lexaeus does bake an excellent souffle.” 

With Xehanort successfully diverted from the conversation, Vanitas relaxed slightly. While it was true that Lexaeus had made a souffle, the original plan had been to add it to the usual arm wrestling tournament as some weird aspect of ‘hot potato’ before eating it. But it seemed that wouldn’t be happening now. Not that the arm wrestling tournament would happen anyways; it was best not to show weakness in front of Xehanort and arm wrestling could reveal too much. 

After dessert was served and dinner was over, Xehanort stood up, dabbing at his mouth with a napkin. “Thank you for the enjoyable time everyone, but I must head out to other business now. Sorry to disappoint you.” While Xehanort said this sincerely, the sardonic twist of his lips showed that he knew no one would be upset that he was leaving. 

And just as suddenly Xehanort had showed up, he was gone. As the door closed behind them there was an audible gust of relief from everyone. Slowly, the happy atmosphere from before Xehanort showed up began to return as people stood up and either began clearing the table or finding somewhere to relax and chat. Vanitas, uncharacteristically, helped with the clean up without a complaint, taking his time as he helped clear off the dishes and finding plasticware to put all the leftovers in. One thought swirled through his head, should he? Or shouldn’t he? 

When every last leftover dish had found a container, and every plate and fork had been put away, Vanitas decided, he should. So he began to wind his way through his family and made his way to the laundry room. Once he had his hand on the doorknob, he stopped, nerves tying his stomach in knots. Vanitas had noticed Ven take off for the laundry room not long after dinner was over, but would he even accept Vanitas’ comfort at this point? Well, if Ven said to leave him alone, Vanitas could always see if he could get Aqua, or Terra, or even Sora to see if their presence would help Ven. 

Taking a deep steadying breath, Vanitas opened the laundry room door and entered, closing the door behind him as he looked into the room. As he expected, Ventus was there, sitting on top of the washing machine in his Thanksgiving finery. What Van didn’t entirely expect, was the half empty bottle of wine in his hands and the drunken flush to his cheeks. 

“Oh hey Van.” Ven said with the barest hint of a slur, waving at him unsteadily with the hand that held the bottle. Vanitas watched the liquid inside slosh dangerously. “What brings you to my neck of the woods?” 

Vanitas crossed his arms and shifted his weight on one foot, purposefully acting casual. “Not much, just decided to check and see how you were doing.” 

“I’m doing great.” Ven said with a lopsided smile. “Get enough alcohol and the dark feelings just evaporate, like smoke. Wooooosh.” Ven made some kind of fluttery motion with his hands that Vanitas assumed was supposed to represent smoke. 

Yeah, this was bad. Vanitas had never seen Ventus have such an extreme reaction to Xehanort before. He shifted his weight to the other foot, uncertain. What was appropriate here? They were like family, yes, but they were also exes. 

Ventus answered Vanitas’ indecision for him, patting his free hand against the washer he asked, “Wanna join me for a drink?” 

Vanitas raised an eyebrow. “You sure?” 

Ven shrugged, a lazy smile on his flushed face. “No harm in it.” 

“Alright.” Vanitas said, and he climbed up on the washer next to Ven. They both barely fit on the washer, and Ventus was pushed up tightly against the wall, but once they had settled Vanitas could feel Ven relax from where he was pressed up against his left side. 

“Drink?” Ven asked, offering Vanitas the bottle. “No glasses though, this here’s a one star restaurant.” 

Vanitas took the bottle and swallowed a mouthful of the red wine, letting Ven’s nonsensical one liner drift off into quiet. 

They stayed like that for a while, silently passing the bottle back and forth. Vanitas could feel himself slowly growing light-headed as the alcohol entered his system, but still he frequently asked Ventus for the wine, knowing that as long as he was holding on to the bottle, Ven was drinking a little less. 

At some point, Ventus sighed and leaned his head against Vanitas’ shoulder, startling Vanitas, who almost dropped the bottle of wine. 

“Am I like him?” Ventus asked pitifully. 

Vanitas’ brain felt like it was swimming, so he didn’t immediately make the connection when he asked, “Like who?” 

“Xehanort.” Ventus spat. “All he does is hurt and hurt and hurt. And what if that’s why I want to become a vet? So I can cause hurt too? Only in a way that society will see as useful.” 

“You’re not like him at all.” Vanitas said with as much steel as he could, solid enough to build a house on. “You want to be a vet because you care, Ven. You go out of your way to avoid stepping on ants because you’re so worried about hurting them. If you don’t want to stop suffering and would rather cause it than Sora’s a monkey’s uncle.” 

Ventus let out a small wet laugh. “You calling Ephemer a monkey?” 

“You know I’m not.” Vanitas said sourly. “You know he’s our brother, not our nephew.” 

Ven’s eyelashes fluttered slowly shut. “Thanks Vanitas,” He said, words slurring more than from just drunkenness. “You’re really cute, you know that?” 

Vanitas couldn’t stop the blush immediately suffusing his cheeks- why did Ven always affect him so? He struggled for some kind of response, but before he could say anything a quiet snore slipped out from Ven. In response Vanitas relaxed, glad to not have anything he was thinking slip out, about how he missed Ven, how he would absolutely, positively do anything Ven asked of him if he took him back. But even if Ven would be willing to listen, now wasn’t the time. 

Instead he placed the wine on the dryer next to him, and tilted his head back against the wall. Sitting there in the calm of the laundry room as Ven slept against him Vanitas felt… peaceful, for the first time in a long time. 

* * *

So maybe Ven missed Vanitas more than he thought. It was the day after the Yakuza 13’s Thanksgiving and Ventus was spread out on his bed in the house he rented with several others. As he stared at the ceiling, his mind was a swirling vortex of thoughts. Not of Xehanort, like he usually tended to focus on after seeing the man face to face, but of Vanitas. The conversation they'd had was running through his mind over and over again. He hadn’t meant to spill his feelings to Vanitas, didn’t mean to give him the decency of that trust, but there was always something about Vanitas that made Ven feel like he could tell anything to him. And to be fair, Vanitas had always responded non-judgmentally and always kept a secret. 

If Ventus was being honest with himself, he often thought of Vanitas, and not just after seeing him in person. He often wondered how he was doing, what his latest art project was, if anyone was there to help him when he went into an insecure spiral, if he still took his tea with two spoonfuls of sugar despite how childish Vanitas thought it was. 

Truthfully, Ven felt like a part of him was missing without Vanitas around. He thought it was part of the normal pains of breaking up, but as the painful feelings faded there was still that noticeable lack. Almost like missing a limb, or thinking there was an extra step, he would go to use it but be startled to find it gone. 

Part of Ven wanted to ask Vanitas if they could get back together, but a larger and hopefully wiser part said he shouldn’t. He had forgiven Vanitas without him ever apologizing plenty of times, he would not let this be one of them. Ventus would simply have to keep moving forward as he was. 

* * *

Vanitas took a deep breath to steady himself. After the way things had gone during the family Thanksgiving, he'd finally opened up and gotten some advice. Now he just needed to act on it. Calm and collected communication is what Papa Roxas had said, and that’s what he would do. So with quiet determination, he pressed Ventus’ number, then brought his ringing phone to his ear. The phone rang and rang and Vanitas wondered if Ven would even pick up. But finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he picked up with a groggy, “Hello?” 

“Hey Ventus.” Vanitas answered. “Can we meet somewhere to talk? It’s important.” 

There was silence for a moment, then the quiet sound of Ven’s voice. “Sure, meet up at the Moldy Onion in an hour?” 

“Sounds good.” Vanitas answered, and they said their goodbyes. 

* * *

Vanitas had a cup of coffee in his hands, filled with creamer until the liquid was a light brown, as he stared vacantly out the window next to his small table. He waited quietly while Ven retrieved his order, than sat down across from him. 

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Ven asked, his blue eyes serious. 

Vanitas turned to look at Ven, studying his face for a moment, his fingers itched to sketch the way the autumn sun fell against his cheek. 

“I wanted to apologize.” Vanitas said. 

Ven’s eyebrows climbed, his eyes went wide. “What?” 

“I want to apologize for how I treated you, I was a shitty boyfriend and you deserved better.” 

Ven sat there quietly, seeming to absorb this information. “Okay, why are you telling me this now?” 

Vanitas looked down at his coffee, tapping his fingers against the cup with slight nerves. “Because I never said it before and I wanted you to know that I feel sorry for what I did. Not because it ended up with us breaking up, but because it hurt you. I was so scared to be the one hurt that I decided to cause the pain first. You didn’t deserve that, and I’m sorry.” 

Ven reached out and covered Vanitas’ hand that wasn’t holding the coffee cup with his own, causing Vanitas to look up. “Thank you for telling me this.” Ven said with a small smile. Then his expression turned more serious. “It’s not entirely your fault though, I should’ve said something. Told you straight out that what you were doing was bothering me. Instead I bottled up those emotions until I couldn’t take it anymore.” 

Vanitas shook his head in disagreement. “I never should have put you in that position in the first place.” 

“Let’s agree to disagree.” Ven said lightly. 

Vanitas hesitated, wanting to defend his point, but decided it wasn’t worth arguing about. “Alright.” 

After that they sat there in slightly awkward silence, sipping their drinks. Ventus’ hand remained on Vanitas’, yet they refused to look anywhere but at each other. 

“Do you want to get back together?” Vanitas blurted out, and immediately wished he could take it back. He had come here to apologize, not convince Ven to date him again. 

Ventus met Vanitas’ gaze, his eyes steely. “Do you mean that?” 

Vanitas wanted to shrink underneath that stare, alarmingly similar to Uncle Eraqus’, but he refused. “Yes.” 

“Y’know, if I said no, that would be it, right? No more asking, no nothing?” 

Vanitas winced. “Yes.” 

“And if we did get back together this would be your last chance. You cavort off even once and we’re done for good.” 

“Yes.” Vanitas said, staring steadfastly at Ven. “And if I did that again I would hand you the gun.” 

They continued to stare at each other, a tense silence between them, until finally Ventus sighed. “Yes.” 

“What?” Vanitas asked, mouth agape. 

“Yes I’ll go out with you, you dork.” Ven said teasingly, a smile on his face. “And I promise I’ll try and communicate with you more too.” 

Vanitas, felt a huge smile spread across his face. “I promise you won’t regret it. You’ll be the happiest man on Earth.” 

Ven laughed and leaned forward. “Alright, now seal that with a kiss.” 

Amused, Vanitas leaned in to place a kiss on his cheek, but at the last second Ven turned his head so it landed on his lips, then pulled away a smug smile on his face while Vanitas looked on, dazed. The kiss had been quick and chaste, but Vanitas still felt that spark he only ever got with Ven. The one that made his heart flutter in his chest and made him feel like he was right where he was supposed to be. 

Right then and there Vanitas promised to himself and to any gods listening that he would make sure that Ven would never, ever suffer because of him and instead would only experience joy. Vanitas may not be what Ventus deserved now, but he would get there.


	25. How's The Weather: Age - 23

“Oh my gosh, I just realized!” Sora exclaimed. “You guys all have weather related nicknames, don’t you!” He and Vanitas were sitting at the bar of Fantasy, having come back for a visit, and were slurping milkshakes Vivi had made for them while everyone else ate a late breakfast at one of the nearby tables. Vivi may have been a bartender, but he also made good milkshakes, smoothies, and really any kind of mixed liquids. He even mixed the homemade salves and balms Aerith brewed up for injuries. 

“What are you talking about?” Cloud asked slowly, but with a dawning sense of dread. 

“Well, I find it hard to believe that your name is really Cloud" Sora said, nodding sagely. "And that’s a weather thing. And you guys call Leon ‘Squall’, and that can also be a weather thing too.” 

“The name ‘Squall’ didn’t come from-” Zack began, but Leon dove across the table to shush him. Sora didn’t notice, as he was still talking. 

“And from what Japanese I’ve learned from animes, I think I remember Rai can be thunder and Fuu can be wind, and then Aerith starts with ‘air’, so what about the rest of you?” 

The staff of Fantasy exchanged looks. 

“Um, Sora, that’s really all just a coincidence,” Yuna said gently. 

“Oh come on, you can’t expect me to believe that!” Sora protested. 

“Should I pick his pocket and check his license?” Vanitas asked. “You have to use your legal name for those.” He and Sora would know. 

“First of all, my license is under a false identity because the Finals got infamous enough that all members regardless of age ended up blacklisted, though luckily we were all only by name. But because of that, my license says my name is Tron, even though Cloud really is my name,” Cloud protested. He wasn’t sure he’d get his wallet back if Vanitas took it. Besides, the picture on his license wasn’t very flattering. He’d had to wear a helmet for his motorcycle exam, and so he’d been unable to gel his hair. He envied the twins their natural spikes. 

“Okay, but what about Rai and Fuu?” 

“Cid named us. And you’re right, our names are Japanese for thunder person and wind person,” Fuujin said. 

“Aha! And what about Aerith and ‘Squall’?” 

“Aerith is what I was named too,” Aerith said. 

“As for ‘Squall’...” Yuffie began. Leon glared at her, then at Seifer and Raijin as they began to chortle. Even Vivi let out a small, almost inaudible little laugh. 

“It’s ‘cuz he was a crybaby!” Tifa burst out, then fell over laughing. 

“Huh?” Sora said. 

“When Leon got his scar, he cried a lot. It just so happened that that was the first time he met Vincent Valentine,” Cid explained. “Vincent never stopped complainin’ about how much Leon was squallin’ that day. And so he made it into a nickname.” 

“Seriously?” Vanitas guffawed. 

“Oh,” Sora said, disappointed. “I kinda thought it would be cool if you all had weather nicknames.” 

“Well we could,” Yuffie said. 

“Yeah, I could be rain since I always feel when the rain’s comin’,” Cid suggested. 

“Dear, we all feel when the rain is coming,” Auron said, using a rare term of endearment. “We all have scars that ache in the cold and when there’s rain.” 

“Your Finals scars, right?” Vanitas asked, interested in spite of himself. 

“Yeah. Our customers always say how our knack for predicting the rain is uncanny,” Yuna said ruefully. 

“That’s so cool!” Sora said. 

“Not cool. Not what we went through,” Fuujin whispered. 

“Oh," Sora looked horrified for a moment, but you never could keep him down for long. "Yeah, that’s not cool. But every cloud has a… oops. Pardon the pun. You’ve gotta look on the bright side is what I mean.” 

“As long as it wasn’t my name it’s fine,” Cloud sighed. 

“Cloud, you do know how that saying goes, right?” Aerith asked. “Because the way you are about silver thanks to your brother…” 

“The saying isn’t about us. I know that,” Cloud said through gritted teeth. 

“Yeah, only because Cid had to pound it into you after you beat me up for using it that one time,” Leon muttered. 

Sora went back to his milkshake, then sat and talked with everyone for a bit before he and Vanitas had to leave. Fantasy would be opening soon, and the staff would need to get ready. He thought about asking if he could work for the evening out of nostalgia, but he had been the one to quit, so coming back now would be unfair. So instead he said his goodbyes as they trickled back to the locker rooms, and then he and Vanitas headed for the car to head on home.


	26. Out With a Bang: Age - 25

There was a strange atmosphere in the city where the Yakuza 13 based themselves. It was inconsistent, in some places woeful, in others jubilant, but overall it was a shocked atmosphere, choked with disbelief. Because even now, two days after the funeral, no one could really believe that Xehanort was dead. 

Xehanort had spent his life becoming a figure of legend, an immortal demon lord of sorts. While there were some who scoffed at this idea and insisted he would eventually die like any other person, there were many who doubted this. Xehanort was too strong, too conniving, and the idea that he would fall seemed ludicrous. 

Some said the man was bulletproof, so even if someone shot him he would live. Some said that any knife used to stab him would break the moment it contacted his skin. That poison was just a appetizer for him. But all agreed that if he did somehow perish, it would certainly be in battle. 

Yet all it took was a simple stroke. 

* * *

People were talking. With Xehanort out of the way, many were certain that the Yakuza 13 would soon move to pick up the slack. More than a few people believed that a war was inevitable. And some had convinced themselves that the Yakuza 13, like many of the gangs that had been under the thumb of Xehanort, would collapse before long. People were nervous, excited, full of anticipation, or frightened. And the tension only built with every minute that passed. 

With rumors flying so thickly they were almost tangible objects in the air, it came as no surprise to anyone when Xemnas called a meeting. His announcement was a bit more surprising though. 

“I have decided to quit this organization. Before I do, however, I would like to offer you the chance to do the same, as I have heard some of you also wish to retire. For those of you leaving, you will have until the end of the month to find a successor,” he said. “You will then have until the end of following month to train them as your replacements, though they should be acting squad leaders by halfway through, if not sooner. If they are all satisfactory, then you will be dismissed and I shall begin seeking my replacement. That is all.” 

That Xemnas would be leaving sent a shock through the organization. Many were so used to the way the current leaders had been in charge and unchallenged for more than two and a half decades, and were not sure how to cope with a change. Some even said they would be leaving too. And as some of the squad leaders began to announce their resignations, the unease only increased. 

* * *

II: Xigbar was one of the few people unbothered by Xemnas’s announcement. He’d known the boss was considering this, and he knew that as always, he would stay at the boss’s side. Even if he was no longer the head of a gang, after all these years, he was the only boss Xigbar would follow anymore. Besides, he didn’t want to deal with some young upstart taking over the gang. They might see him as a threat and try to get rid of him, and then he’d have to call up old contacts who he rather disliked and take out the gang he’d helped to build, and he really didn’t want to do that. 

Xigbar knew there were plenty of kids in his squad- everyone who was more than 10 years younger than him counted as a kid in Xigbar’s mind- who wouldn’t mind taking charge. So far he’d fueled their ambitions by letting them take charge of individual missions here and there, since none of them wanted to work under Xemnas and also all of them couldn’t hold a candle to him and his expertise and they knew it. But now they would have the chance to be real leaders, and he knew they’d all jump at it. 

The problem was, while there were plenty of kids who had proven themselves as leaders, he had to make sure his successor was up to snuff for the tough jobs too. And not just the tough jobs. They had to be able to handle the impossible jobs. And for this, he knew the perfect exercise. 

Okay, so maybe Xigbar just loved paintball. And he also loved to show off. But come on, it was obvious all along what kind of selection process he would have, wasn’t it? 

“Sooo, you think you guys have what it takes to take over the second division?” he asked the candidates who had presented themselves. Many of them nodded, though a couple did seem to consider the question. That was no good. The leader couldn’t afford to hesitate. Besides, they should have already thought about that by now. 

Xigbar stood in front of them in the lobby, next to a large stack of crates. 

“Well, I’m sure you do, but just to be certain, I want you to prove it to me. I want to know that you are just a good leader, but also good at the finer side of things. So come up here, and take a crate. Each one has a paintball gun and plenty of ammo in a specific color. Make sure you do not provide your own ammo or borrow someone else’s as each color is unique and at the end that is how you will be scored.” 

“Scored, sir?” somebody asked. 

“Yup. Scored. You will have one week to hit a certain target as many times as you can. Every time you hit the target, you get points. Saix will keep track of points- he has a color guide to make sure he doesn’t get mixed up. He will also be noting the location of your hits and whether or not it is immediately lethal, lethal if not treated, or non-lethal, which will affect whether you get one, two, or three points. Whoever has the most points at the end will be the next leader. Got it?” 

“But sir, you haven’t told us the target yet!” someone protested. 

“Well, duh. It’s me.” The words were barely out of Xigbar’s mouth before he had vanished from the room. He sure as heck wasn’t gonna make it easy on these kids. 

One week later the same crowd gathered in the same place. All the candidates had resigned looks on their faces as they waited for the leader. They flinched collectively as he burst in. 

“What is wrong with you people?” he yelled. “You had a whole week to hit me, and not one single tag. Not even any splatter! Half of you I could tell were coming from a mile away, and the other half had such lousy shooting you didn’t even come anywhere within a mile of hitting me! And you call yourselves snipers, you-” 

A blossom of paint appeared on Xigbar’s shirt. In the front of the crowd, a small girl squeaked and began babbling an apology. 

“I’m so sorry, sir! It was an accident, I had my hand by the trigger and I was getting nervous so I just pulled my finger automatically and I-” the girl stopped as Xigbar started laughing. 

“Well,” Xigbar gasped between peals of laughter. “I think we just got our new leader. Have a little more confidence in your kill, kiddo, that was great. You’re alive and your target isn’t and that’s all that matters at the end of the day. Congratulations.” 

* * *

X: “Well, it’s been a good run. But as any gambler knows, luck eventually runs out. Mine hasn’t yet, but I certainly don’t wish to stick around until it does. I’d like to save some for my old age, which is almost upon me,” Luxord told his squad. 

“Pfft! You’re always telling us how you’re young at heart,” one of the women in the squad said. 

“Or that some things improve with age, like wine and yourself,” another woman added. 

Luxord held up a hand to stem the reiterations of some of his failed pick-up lines. No need to go digging up the past or anything, right? 

“So what’s it going to be?” someone asked. 

“Pardon me?” 

“How are you going to decide the new leader? Will it be poker? Or maybe roulette since you can’t rig that.” 

“On the contrary, I’ve heard you can,” somebody else countered. 

“What? How?” 

“Simmer down, simmer down,” Luxord said. “No, I was thinking we’d-” 

“Ooh, I know! A drinking game! Last one standing wins!” 

“What kind of drinking game? Are we all going to take shots at once or will it be some kind of game where the losers take a shot?” 

“Oi, you sorry bunch of rat-festered heathens!” Luxord yelled. 

“Hey, how about an insult contest? We’re supposed to be able to keep our cool no matter what, so we’ll try and make each other lose our cool with insults?” 

“Sounds good.” 

“Sounds good? It’s a terrible idea, pea-brain.” 

“Well at least my face doesn’t look like something sat on it?” 

“Well your face looks like someone’s back end.” 

“Your momma’s so fat-” 

Luxord sighed and gave up. He opened up his liquor cabinet and poured himself some scotch. This was gonna be a long day. He watched the situation deteriorate as people’s grins- which had been inspired by confidence in their collectedness and the cleverness of their insults- faded, and soon his subordinates were all in tears or having heated arguments that nearly compared to the fights certain leaders got into. 

“Alright, you lot can go home. We’ll decide the leader tomorrow,” he announced, and they grudgingly left. 

The next morning, everyone showed up, in much better moods than they’d left in, though some of the scars clearly remained as some people shifted away from each other or glared pointedly as warnings. They were ready. 

“First off, hear me out or so help me God I will have you all transferred to your least-favorite squads. Got it?” Everyone nodded. “Good. So, our contest for today will be a rumor-mongering contest. You must come up with baseless rumors about our gang. However, don’t get too creative; this isn’t storytime for some little boy. Your rumors have to be believable. If you manage to convince people, you move on the next round. Because we can spread all the rumors we want, but if no one believes us, then what good is it? Case and point, I’m sure you all remember the Empress Incident, where someone tried to start a rumor that Larxene was secretly royalty in order to help set up a cover story that would allow her to get close to a certain diamond she wanted. Though of course the problem there was that they were helping Larxene with a personal mission, or even helping her at all.” 

And so it began. Luxord found it a rather entertaining little exercise, both in the more ridiculous sounding rumors, but also in the things people unwittingly got right- and then weren’t believed about. 

“Xehanort was Xemnas’s father!” was laughed at, as was “Captain Axel of the eighth division and Captain Saix of the seventh are dating,” and “Captain Demyx used to be a singer.” The one that really shocked Luxord though, was “Captain Roxas’s wife is the secret weapon of the Yakuza 13.” Luxord had been about to disqualify the candidate who threw this one out because it was obvious that their martial arts instructor was the “secret weapon” but then everyone else in the room began making noises of disdain. 

“Baah!” 

“Yeah right!” 

“No way.” 

“As if.” 

“I wouldn’t believe something THAT ridiculous even if I’d had a dozen shots of tequila with a whole bottle of vodka as a chaser!” 

Luxord smiled and carefully kept his mouth shut. The game continued, and eventually he had a successor. 

* * *

IV: Vexen had to suppress a cackle of glee as he informed his squad of their chance at gaining the position of captain. It wasn’t so much that he was excited about retirement, though with the arthritis building up it was about time he did so. No, it was because he had a little bit of sweet revenge in mind. 

“Alright. You all know about our long-standing rivalry with the sixth division,” he began. No one bothered to point out that this rivalry only existed between the captains. It just wasn’t worth it. “So, in order to get in my good books and become our new squad leader, all you have to do is come up with some prank that features Zexion as the victim. That’s all. Whoever has the most amusing prank wins.” 

The members of the fourth division stirred uneasily, and more than one decided to drop their pursuit of the captainship right then and there. As the medics of the gang, they knew very well what happened to people who messed with any of the captains, and they would rather that not become them. Also, none of them was particularly good at coming up with pranks. 

Over in the sixth division, a squad member who had been monitoring the feeds glanced askance and asked “Um, captain, he does know we have cameras and audio down there, right?” 

Zexion snorted and simply said “Idiot.” 

A few of the bolder members of the fourth division did indeed try to set up pranks, but everything they did was somehow foiled. Like the water-bucket over the door prank failed when Demyx came through the door instead of Zexion. Demyx had responded by taking off his shirt and declaring it “office beach day” to which the ninth division responded enthusiastically, but that particular prankster was left in low spirits. And the thumbtack left on Zexion’s chair in the meeting room somehow made its way to Vexen’s chair instead, and the exploding cake exploded on Lexaeus, who very cheerfully threatened to maim whoever was responsible for that sheer waste of a perfectly good dessert. 

Some of the smarter members sought a different route, also to no avail. Aqua, who was perfectly happy to help the fourth division under most circumstances, gave such a disappointed look when she discovered that this time they wanted help pranking her husband that all pranksters who went to her gave up right away. 

And then there were those who had accepted the futility of the endeavor from the start. They too went to Aqua, but for a very different reason. 

“If you’re coming to ask me to tell you our address or-” she began with a reproachful look. 

“No ma’am. We came to ask you to take over our squad. See, the way we figure is that no one is going to succeed, and if they do, their life expectancy will be a few hours at best, and so at this rate no one will be named captain. But you just finished medical school, you’re familiar with the gang, you’d be perfect!” 

“I-I really can’t, guys. I’m… flattered, I’m sure, it’s just… I mean… Look. I really can’t join the Yakuza 13. My dad, my husband, my brothers, there’s a long list of people who would never forgive me if I did, and besides, I don’t want to. And I just got a job at the hospital, and even though I’ve only been there a couple weeks I really like it, so no. I can’t and I won’t. I’m sorry.” 

Eventually, Vexen gave up. He wasn’t stupid, and so he knew a lost cause when he saw one. But it would have been so great had this ploy worked out. Grudgingly, he called his squad together to announce the new leader, who was a young self-trained surgeon who was also good at taking command and keeping calm in an emergency situation. He was a lousy fighter, but you couldn’t have everything. At least he was good at dodging, and Vexen was planning on buying his successor a shield like the one he had anyways, since to the fourth division that was a symbol of their leader. 

* * *

XI: Marluxia was glad to hear Xemnas’s offer of freedom. He’d had a good time here with the Yakuza 13, but he missed gardening. He missed getting his hands dirty in the literal sense rather than the figurative sense. He didn’t mind killing people, but he’d like to spend his time killing weeds instead. He’d lasted this long thanks to the twins. Taking care of them had allowed him to satisfy the small part of him that sought to nurture, but now that they were both adults with jobs and living on their own, he needed to return to his plants. Even if Sora and Kairi were planning on having children soon, it just wouldn’t be the same. 

No one was surprised at the contest Marluxia proposed: disguises. They would have to put together disguises that could fool him, and if they did, they could keep trying. Many people began seeking wigs and makeup, but a few of the bravest souls drudged up pictures of some of the leaders to try and impersonate them. The most popular choice seemed to be Xemnas, though there were also quite a few instances of Saix, Luxord, Vexen, and Xigbar. There were a couple Larxenes as well, and even a double of Marluxia himself. The rest were all deemed impossible as Lexaeus was too tall, Roxas too short, Xaldin’s hair was too difficult to replicate, Axel was too skinny, Demyx’s behavior was too irregular to impersonate, and no one wanted to annoy Zexion once they heard about the fourth division’s selection process. 

The second round included more impersonators, this time focusing more on various persons well-known to the Yakuza 13. There were carbon copies of Eraqus and his children, of Sora and Vanitas, of some of the staff of the recently closed Fantasy, and even of Pete, though not Maleficent because the one person who tried to copy her hairdo got a horrendous headache from all the pins and hairspray involved. One bold soul even tried Xehanort, but was disqualified after the very negative reactions they got forced them to reveal themselves. That person was then given a lengthy lecture on tastefulness, and also on knowing when things were too soon. And, as they were reminded, anything regarding Xehanort would always be too soon. 

* * *

XII: The lock on Lexaeus’s door clicked open, and Larxene swept in. 

“You could have just knocked,” he sighed. Not that Larxene ever knocked. It just wasn’t her style. 

“No time for that. This is important. I need you to give me all your underwear.” 

“What? Why?” 

“Because I’m going to burn it.” 

“Again, why?” 

“Because in order to determine who is the next leader of my squad, I’m hosting a panty raid. They’ve got to get the undies of as many of you guys as they can, and I’d just as soon they didn’t see your boxers with the kittens on them, as cute as those are. Hence, your underwear must be burned. If it’s any consolation, I’ve already burned all of mine.” 

“Larxene…” 

“Hey, at least I’m talking to you about it. I could have just snuck in and taken care of things on my own. But am I? No. I’m talking to you, and not just as a preventative measure to make sure you don’t buy more before the deadline hits them.” 

“I guess this means I’m going commando for a while?” Lexaeus said, resigned. 

“Oh such sweet words I never thought I’d hear,” Larxene said with a wink. 

Once the deed was done, Larxene headed off, brainstorming the next important step in her plan: what to do with the stolen goods. Ideally she’d just hand them off to the thirteenth division to spread them out over the city, but she knew Roxas wouldn’t want to be a part of this, even if she offered him an exemption of some sort. Also that was going a bit too far, even for her. She supposed she could challenge them further by having them put the underwear back. 

There were other issues too, such as the fact that some of the leaders were married and it would be unfair to their spouses to have their underwear rifled through as well. Also, Axel and Saix, while still not officially married, were cohabiting, and it might be difficult to tell whose underwear was whose. They didn’t share did they? Ew, she sure hoped not. 

The other question was whether or not to tell the other leaders. On the one hand, it gave the added challenge of requiring her squad to steal from difficult targets, and it lowered the risk of “accidental” injury or death should they get caught. But on the other hand it might make the task a bit too difficult, the others would get pissed at her that much sooner, and it might even actually increase the rate of “accidental” injury or death. Plus some of them might take a leaf out of her book and dispose of their underwear. 

In the end, Larxene kept mum to the other leaders, and made sure her squad knew better than to touch any underwear not belonging to a leader. It did her heart good to watch the others, as over the next few days the bafflement over their missing underwear set in. Larxene played it cool, shaking her head along with them and trying not to wink every time she saw one of her squad members. They made her so proud, as none of them got caught. 

One clever kid ended up being the winner as they stole all the underwear they could find whenever they hit one of the leaders, leaving nothing behind for the rest. A couple others caught on and tried to do the same, but by the time they did the original perpetrator had already cleaned out eight different leaders, and they were still able to get some from the remaining leaders as, needing underwear, they’d gone out and bought more, only for it to be stolen as well. 

The day after the winner was declared, the leaders returned home from work to find all their underwear, neatly washed and folded, arranged at the ends of their beds. Their homes were also considerably cleaner as well, as Larxene hired cleaning services to go in (granted entry by some of her squad members who had already broken in) and take care of things so that every surface sparkled, all clothes were pressed, all beds made with freshly cleaned sheets, and all countertops tidied up. 

Oddly enough, this was what the leaders found most upsetting of all. Demyx nearly threw a fit at the idea that anyone might have touched his instrument collection, Vexen was distressed that his peculiar organization system had been ruined and replaced with something that actually made sense to normal people, and Xigbar bemoaned the loss of the mouse that had been nesting in his closet, who he’d named Herbert and who he claimed was his second-best friend. 

* * *

V: Lexaeus found it hard not to tear up as he announced his retirement. So did his squad. It wasn’t every boss who brought in two cakes for every person’s birthday- one in their favorite flavor to take home and another one for the squad to share in the celebration with- and who also regularly supplied their squad’s office space with cookies, brownies, danishes, croissants, baklava, donuts, and various other baked goods- all homemade. And also he had reasonable expectations and didn’t get upset if you needed to take a sick day. But a nice boss is easier to find than a nice boss who bakes heavenly goodies and shares them. 

Unlike many of the other squads, Lexaeus kept it simple. People nominated those they thought would be a good leader and in the end they took a vote. No crazy shenanigans involved. 

The decision to leave hadn’t been easy. But Larxene wanted to go, and so did Xaldin and Zexion and all the others he’d come to respect and/or think of as friends. And he did want to be closer to his hometown and all his siblings and nieces and nephews. There was a house he and Larxene had been looking at, a real fixer-upper, and he could just picture himself and Larxene living there, working on this problem or that, and turning the place into a real beauty. It wasn’t like he wouldn’t know what to do with himself without the gang. He just worried that they wouldn’t know what to do without him. 

That was a rather arrogant way of thinking, he knew. He knew they could do just fine without him. But he also knew that his squad always came straight to him with their problems. They could figure it out on their own, but they’d rather he figured it out for them. And soon he wouldn’t be there to do so… 

* * *

VI: Zexion sipped his coffee. Lexaeus had just spilled his guts to him about leaving, and he just didn’t know what to say. Sure, thanks to Aqua he could express himself a little bit better, but to have a man who he had always looked up to relying on him was a bit more than he could handle. More than anyone could really handle, he was sure. Oh well, he’d just have to do his best. 

“Er, well, I don’t think anyone would criticize you if you decided to stay,” he tried lamely. 

“The same goes for you,” Lexaeus said. “But you’re still leaving.” 

“Well, yeah. I came for revenge, and I got that. Ages ago. Sure, I like what I do and all, but I know it makes Aqua nervous, and I really would like to come home and not see a relieved look in her eyes because she thought I wasn’t going to return. And what with her new job, she won’t be able to take maternity leave once the baby comes, and-” 

“Wait, Aqua’s pregnant?” Lexaeus gasped. Zexion nodded. “And you didn’t tell me?” 

“Well we only just found out and I needed to tell Eraqus and Roxas and Xemnas first since they’re her family and all, and I haven’t actually managed to talk to Roxas yet and-” 

“Alright, alright, I get it. Well anyways, what I was getting to is that you have your reasons for leaving, and I have mine. I made my decision, and I’ll stick by it. I just worry a lot.” 

“Obviously,” Zexion snorted. 

“Don’t get sassy with me,” Lexaeus ordered in his parent voice. 

“Do you tell that to Larxene?” Zexion replied, quirking an eyebrow. Lexaeus reached over and lightly cuffed Zexion on the head before changing the subject. Well, relatively lightly. It was Lexaeus after all. 

“So how are you finding a successor?” 

“They’re currently taking some tests," Zexion replied, stirring his coffee. "I kept it simple. Just the SAT, ACT, some AP exams, the GRE, and then for a practical exam they’ll have to build their own computer.” 

“You’re using standardized tests?” 

“Sure. If they don’t have the knowledge to pass those, then what good are they?” 

“And what if they cheat?” 

“Good for them. If they can get ahold of answers without getting caught then they certainly belong in our division.” 

Lexaeus didn’t know what to say. It was an effect Zexion often had on people. What a pity he couldn’t have that effect on Vexen. That idiot had even tried to use pranking him as a way to choose a successor. Oh how the tables had turned. But for now, there were more important matters for Zexion to worry about. Thanks to Marluxia’s antics it was now clear he needed to update the building’s facial recognition software, and his home security needed work too as Larxene had somehow snuck in and stolen all his underwear. He had originally thought that she was just trying to find the weaknesses in his programming, as always, but she’d struck the other leaders as well, and he just couldn’t understand why. But after all this time he’d accepted that his colleagues were quite peculiar. 

* * *

XIII: Roxas was less surprised by Xemnas’s impending retirement than some of the others. After all, Xemnas, like so many of the other leaders and most of his squad and even a few old hands from the other squads, often came to him for therapy sessions. It was a wonder he ever got any actual work done with everyone crying to him with all their problems. Was he licensed as a therapist? No. Did he remind every person who came to talk to him of this? Yes. Did they care? Not in the least. 

So Roxas wasn’t left in a state of shock by Xemnas’s announcement. However, everyone else was. It was good he’d been planning for this eventuality all along and so he already had a successor lined up, as the amount of people coming to him to vent their feelings about the change in command was seemingly endless. 

Unlike most of the others, Roxas had never meant to stay for any length of time. He’d just wanted to pay his way through college without burdening his sister. That was all. But then Hope had been killed, and then they’d gotten the twins, and before he knew it what was supposed to be a short-term employment ended up lasting more than twenty years. Even now, after the Finals had been taken care of and the twins had moved out and he’d graduated from college several years ago already and very few people even remembered that the position of thirteenth leader was supposed to be jinxed, let alone believed in the curse, he was still sticking around. Why? He just didn’t know how to let go. 

How was he supposed to let go of the amazing friends he’d made here? How was he supposed to leave them all behind, with their crazy antics that both irritated and amused him at the same time? Where would he be without the rest of them: Luxord and his constant insistences he was an atheist when he clearly wasn’t, Demyx with his interrupting nature, Vexen and his tendency to make comments about how Roxas’s bones should have shattered by now and he should be dead and shouldn’t be able to walk and whatnot, Xigbar with his jokes that went too far, and Xemnas with his tri-weekly therapy sessions as he struggled to relearn emotions- a fact that had given Roxas more cause to respect the man than anything he ever did as the head of the Yakuza 13. And most of all, how was he supposed to just abandon Axel, his best friend apart from Xion who had introduced him to sea-salt ice cream and had been the best man at his wedding and who he trusted to raise his kids should anything ever happen to him and Xion? Letting go was not easy, and so he’d remained. But now they were making things easy for him. 

A small, perverse part of Roxas kept thinking that maybe they were doing it for him. They all knew how reluctant he’d been to join, and how certain he was it wouldn’t last. Maybe they also knew why he was staying, and were all leaving so that he could and would as well. Or worse, they were just pretending to leave for his sake. But Roxas knew better. He knew how tired Xemnas was. 

Even as Roxas announced his resignation and the promotion of his current lieutenant, he wondered what would happen to the gang. Would his lieutenant be expected to take over for him as unofficial therapist as well? He hoped not, as his current lieutenant, a lad he’d spent the last two years grooming for leadership in the eventuality that Roxas should retire, was good at getting around town and finding people and all the other ins and outs of being the leader of the thirteenth division, but he had little to no patience for drama, and when people came to Roxas, they tended to have drama. He hoped his lieutenant’s ascension wouldn’t plunge the Yakuza 13’s morale to an all time low. 

* * *

VII: Saix dreaded his retirement. Not in the normal way though. The thought of a life free of the paperwork that had bogged him down for so long was so uplifting he was afraid of floating away. But the paperwork would still exist, and it would be being done by someone else. And they might not do it right. 

Saix had reason to doubt the capabilities of others. He spent more than half of his time filling out the paperwork of the other leaders. Okay, sometimes he just had to rewrite it, like when Vexen got bloodstains on his, or for Zexion he had to input it into a computer program to make it into something readable and then print it, but if he messed up at all that could take hours. But he spent far too much time returning Larxene’s requests for a chocolate fountain to be installed and filling out Demyx’s paperwork and redoing Axel’s and whiting out Luxord’s lewd doodles. So he spent a lot of time dealing with incompetence, and covering for it, and he still managed to process more paperwork than anyone else in his division. Faced with these facts, he didn’t see how anyone else could fill his shoes. 

Still, he was going. He and Axel could go and find a nice quiet place to live, near one of the twins maybe, but only if it was alright with them, and maybe he could talk to Axel about making their relationship official and getting married. Every time he planned to broach the subject something always came up, but outside the gang, maybe they could finally make it work. 

He was also going because of his tendency to go berserk. It was an ability that he hated to rely on. He always feared he would hurt those he cared about, and also as he grew older it seemed to take a greater and greater toll on him in both mind and body. If he left the gang, there would be no need for it any longer. He’d like that. 

Given his doubts about his squad members, Saix decided to just do things the normal way. He informed his squad that anyone who wished to succeed him should turn in an application form, accompanied by a resume and at least three references. A letter of recommendation was not mandatory but strongly suggested. Applicants would then schedule an interview. He did consider having Xaldin conduct the interviews, but decided that was too cruel as interviews were already quite intimidating to most people, and so he did it all himself. 

Some applicants didn’t take the process seriously. They put silly things on their applications, a few submitted a paper saying “I work for you” as a resume, and some tried to schedule an interview without bothering with the paperwork- an act that got them promptly booted from the squad as what idiot skimps on paperwork when applying to be the head of a division that lives and breathes paperwork? Even among those who took the paperwork seriously, there were still those who underperformed in their interviews. They were late, they wore casual clothes, they joked around instead of answering questions. What irritated Saix most was that all of the applicants who screwed around during the process didn’t seem to see it as a problem. Had discipline within his squad become so lax? He resolved to spend his last few weeks as their leader doing cross squad trainings, inviting Xaldin and Roxas over to give them the most insane workouts they’d never imagined, and also being the most relentless boss imaginable. If they were glad to see him go, that might actually be a good thing after all. 

* * *

III: Xaldin wondered if it was really worth it to retire. Sure, the majority of every paycheck he’d gotten as a leader of the Yakuza 13 had gone into the bank, so it wasn’t like he would be poor once he left, but the idea of not having income made him nervous. And he certainly wouldn’t be able to get a different job, what with having been dishonorably discharged and being retirement age and all. He knew he could count on the others if need be- Lexaeus and Vexen were good friends, as was Xigbar, and Xemnas and Saix both would help him out in repayment for his years managing the budget, and in a real pinch he could turn to Demyx, because after years of hating each other as parenting partners they’d grown into a sort of grudging cooperation where if nothing else, they at least had each others’ backs. But that was a last resort. 

While many of the others seemed unwilling to stay if everyone else was leaving, Xaldin had no such reservations. He didn’t mind being the only senior leader. He liked his job. He had no problem sticking around, except for one thing: his squad. Those who managed to tough it out in his squad were all extremely loyal to him. They’d never even think of having another leader with him around. And this was a problem. There were some in his squad who had potential, but they’d never realize it while they constantly deferred to him. It would be a waste to keep them in check, and as he got older the chances of his death increased. This didn’t bother him overly much, as death was inevitable, but if his squad were suddenly left bereft like that, the consequences could be dangerous, for both his squad and the gang as a whole. They would likely lose many as they sought out vengeance, and even if they kept their heads they’d have no one who was ready to take charge, leading to much squabbling amongst themselves and decreased efficiency, and worst of all, someone ambitious from another squad might decide to take over and then they’d mess everything up because it’d likely be someone with no understanding of budgets and bookkeeping. 

And even if his squad weren’t reason enough to leave, there was also Penelope. Their relationship was currently somewhat painful, as they were mutually in love but Xaldin would never officially date her or even meet with her in person so long as he remained in the Yakuza 13. It was just too dangerous. Xaldin had considered breaking off contact many times over the years, but he never could bear to do so. And since Xemnas’s announcement, Xaldin found himself paying more attention to jewelry stores, looking at sale offers and making mental calculations regarding budget as if to see how much it would set him back to buy her a wedding ring. 

Xaldin was the last one to announce his resignation. Of course, given the organization capabilities of the leaders, he still managed to be the second to file his paperwork, as he was ready to turn in his paperwork the same day he made his announcement, and at that point Saix only had his own paperwork on file. After making the announcement and turning in his paperwork, Xaldin took his lunch break, and before he even finished he already had suggestions on how he should choose his successor. 

“Choose whoever can break down the thickest door,” was one suggestion. 

“Take them to a nursery and choose whoever makes the most babies cry,” was another. 

The general consensus seemed to be that Xaldin should choose the scariest looking goon imaginable. But Xaldin had other plans in mind. 

In the third division, there was one person who, in Xaldin’s mind, really stood out. He had only joined a few months ago, but had quickly gone up in his boss’s imagination for his quick and accurate calculations, his careful decision making, and his ability to encourage others and be bossy as need be. 

Of course there was some protest. 

“He’s not scary!” 

“He’s a twig! I’ve seen bulkier toothpicks!” 

“He looks like he’s in middle school with that acne.” 

“He’s obviously a nerd!” 

But Xaldin had known silencing the protests would be the hardest part, and both he and his successor were prepared. His successor was extremely uncoordinated, and even intensive training at Xion’s family’s dojo did little to help, but he had extremely thick skin and excelled at de-escalation, which allowed him to settle things with words. Xaldin knew the fourth division at least would be grateful if his squad they got into less fights. 

And so the third division, in their typical efficiency, chose a new leader who would maintain the squad’s traditions. Just to be on the safe side though, Xaldin helped him to select someone scary as a lieutenant- a boxing champ named Lisette who looked like she could break every bone in your body with just a glance. They’d make a good team. 

* * *

IX: “Who’s up for musical chairs!” Demyx shouted out as he sauntered into the ninth division’s “cool cave”. A chorus of groans rose up. The ninth division was used to their leader and his musical tendencies and flightiness. They didn’t mind having karaoke nights. They didn’t mind when they randomly spent an afternoon playing Tangler with not enough mats for the amount of people they had. It didn’t bother them in the least when he insisted on a field trip to the park where they were armed with squirt guns and water balloons and told to let loose, at least not if he did this in the summertime. His attempt to do so in the late fall hadn’t gone over so well. But they did draw a line somewhere, and it tended to be around musical chairs. Also the AC was broken and all the bodies in there made it pretty hot, and a few people were hungover and didn’t want to deal with the music, and also the last time they’d played musical chairs Demyx had invited the other divisions along and tried to speed things up by only having half as many chairs as people, and things had gotten a bit chaotic because, all the bruises from being bodyslammed aside, how were you supposed to rule when you had one of those kids from the 13th division doing a handstand on the back of the chair someone from the fifth division was sitting in? 

“Whoever wins gets to be the new squad leader,” Demyx sing-songed, trying to motivate them. More groans followed. Who wanted to do something troublesome like that? People would have expectations for them, and want them to do things that actually felt like work. 

“Wait, seriously? I’ll be in charge if I win?” piped up a voice. Suddenly the air, which was still and heavy due to the lack of AC, became still-er and heavier. 

“Yup,” Demyx said cheerfully. 

“Sweet! I’m in,” that person replied. 

Suddenly there was a multitude of other participants, everyone chorusing their agreement. They’d all heard that voice plenty of times. That voice was always saying the same kinds of things: how if they were in command, things would be different, if they were in command the ninth division would be tougher, if they were in command everyone would get matching tattoos, if they were in command then… The list went on and on, and it was the stuff of nightmares for the rest of them. How that person had ended up in this squad, none of them understood. And how they stayed in the squad was something no one could fathom. 

Only a few people noticed the shark-like grin on Demyx’s face. He, at least, was going to have fun. 

The game began, and by unspoken agreement, so did the sabotage. People kept sticking their legs out, trying to trip that person, but they had remarkably good balance and stayed upright. Then someone tried staying close to that person so they could stick a pin on the closest chair and take a seat in it after that person jumped up in pain. But that person wanted to win and stayed seated through the pain, leaving the pin-person to get out. Finally, the first person who had gotten out, an individual named Griffin who was generally the most thoroughly unmotivated person in the ninth division, organized the other losers to sing along with the current song a capella, so that when the music was turned off, that person didn’t notice. 

To the distress of all, that person still won. Most of the squad was nearly in tears. Demyx began clapping his hands and called out, “A round of applause for our new leader.” That person jumped onto a chair, clearly expecting a rain of applause. But Demyx wasn’t done yet. 

“I must say, I was very impressed by his organizational capabilities, getting everyone together to sing like that. Not to mention the sneaky underhandedness of it all. Sometimes to make a deal you’ve gotta be sneaky and underhanded, and I’m so glad to see that. Congratulations Griffin.” 

There was stunned silence as everyone stared at the laziest member of the squad who had organized that sabotage, and he stared back. Then suddenly everyone began cheering exuberantly, leaving only one very disappointed person to climb off a chair. 

“But sir, you said the winner would be the new squad leader,” the disappointed loser whined. 

“Ah, but you forgot to get it in writing,” Demyx said with a wink. As that person trudged away, he said in a low voice to the nearest underling “Also I hate that guy just as much as the rest of you.” 

* * *

VIII: Axel hummed as he headed off to post the notice regarding his retirement and the matter of succession. He was splattered with paint from when he’d gotten sniped while having a conversation with Xigbar earlier, and his underwear was missing, but even that wasn’t going to dampen his good mood. He was in high spirits, and nothing was going to bring him down now. 

Axel left the notice on a bulletin board in the eighth division’s office. Not that a lot of people would see it, so, just to be nice, he texted everyone to check the board. There were a few who didn’t check their phones either, but tough luck to them if they missed their chance to be squad leader. 

The next day he had everything set up, and the race was on. Literally, as they had to complete an obstacle course that Roxas and Xaldin had helped Axel to prepare. It involved scaling walls, crawling under nets, crossing a pool on floating steps, and running past a bunch of members of the eleventh division dressed up as Xigbar while the entire second division shot at whichever one they believed to be their boss. In short, it was chaos. 

When the first person reached the finish line, they expected to find their captain waiting to congratulate them on their victory. Instead, they found a note. 

“ _LOL you guys didn’t actually think that was what you had to do, did you? Your real challenge is to kiss as many of the Yakuza 13 leaders as you can before 1800 tomorrow. Good luck! ;)_ ” 

So the various competitors spent the next day and a half trying to kiss Yakuza 13 leaders. It was a difficult task to begin with; some didn’t dare for fear of the consequences, and others did not feel secure enough to kiss someone of the same gender or someone they were not already close to. To make things worse, the eleventh division was still trying to determine THEIR next squad leader, and more than one of them was eliminated after bursting into tears from being unexpectedly kissed by some random eighth division pyromaniac. The traumatized victims only added to the list of people waiting to see Roxas. 

At 1800 the eighth division gathered again, to find their leader sitting with Demyx. Both men burst out laughing when they noticed the gathered division members. 

“Hahahahaha I can’t believe some of you actually did that!” Axel said. “It was a joke! What you really have to do is set a brick on fire as fast as you can.” 

There was a mad scramble as everyone rushed to get a brick and whatever tools they chose to use for the assignment, then rush back and start setting the bricks on fire for the boss. Demyx continued laughing as he watched them, and more than a few members felt their hearts sink. Was this a joke too? 

It was. No sooner had someone crowed their victory then Axel informed them that setting a brick on fire was boring, and they should all reconvene in two days to see who could set off the best fireworks display. 

But two days later after the fireworks had gone off, Axel claimed that he couldn’t determine whose display was best because the weather was just too hot and so whoever brought him his favorite ice cream flavor would win. 

Every flavor imaginable was tried. Chocolate, vanilla, cookie dough, cookies and cream, fudge ripple, rocky road, caramel swirl, strawberry, coffee, butter pecan, various candy bar flavors, various fruit flavors, various specialty flavors, gelato. Finally somebody went out on a limb and bought some sea salt ice cream, thinking it sounded ridiculous, but so was this whole farce. As Axel happily consumed the ice cream, he told them he’d just been craving some ice cream, and informed them that really they just needed to steal some paperwork off of Saix’s desk. 

Several unsuccessful attempts later, Axel showed up limping slightly to tell them that he’d decided to merely pull a name out of a hat. Everyone wrote their names down and put them in the hat. Then Axel decided this was too whimsical and they should all write poems lauding his greatness. Only three people even bothered. 

“I see you guys are getting annoyed. Okay, I’ll stop,” Axel sighed when the poems proved to be a great disappointment, with one creatively cussing him out, a second that was an essay rather than a poem, and a third that was a haiku that was very brief in its praise. “I guess I should get serious now. Which means that I’m sorry to tell you but the winner was decided days ago. Only one person saw through to the real challenge, which was to report to Xemnas and offer to teach him the macarena.” 

“What? How were we supposed to figure that out!” someone cried. 

“It was on the plane,” the victor said. 

“What plane?” 

“The plane that flew over the starting line right before the gun went off. It had a banner saying ‘the big man wants to macarena but no one has offered to teach him’. Actually, it was two planes, since the message was so long. And they had little asterisks on each end, and an asterisk is above the number 8 on a computer keyboard, so I thought I’d give it a try.” 

“No wonder I tripped over you at the start of the race! You were staring at freaking planes!” someone yelled. 

“Yeah, but she won because she stared at those planes. This division needs a leader who can put two and two together. She’s not perfect, as it would have been better if she hadn’t stopped moving while she figured things out, but I’m sure she’ll get there. I did,” Axel said. The complaints mellowed, though many members were still grumbling as they walked away. 

“Man, I’m gonna miss being able to mess with you guys,” Axel said. 

“By the way sir, Xemnas does NOT want to learn to macarena,” the successor replied. 

* * *

I: Xemnas watched as the new divisions began training their leaders. He had his doubts about some of them. Okay, all of them. They just weren’t… oh. They weren’t the captains he’d worked with for so long. That’s why he had such a hard time with them. Though there were other issues, like the prepubescent leader-in-training of the third squad. Or that guy from the ninth who was even more unmotivated than Demyx. And that… thing… that had the gall to offer to teach him something called “macarena” and was now training to take over the eighth. Trust Axel to choose someone like that. By far the worst was Xigbar’s replacement who seemed afraid of life; the complete opposite of Xigbar. There were enough doubts that Xemnas was half-tempted to just call the whole thing off. But he was looking forward to retirement. 

Xemnas had already informed Eraqus about the situation. His uncle had done that thing he always did, where he rubbed his temples and looked older than he was, and these days that made him look genuinely old, which probably terrified Xemnas as he could even feel fear when he saw it happen. Xemnas had made a note to make sure his successor found different legal representation, as his uncle deserved a rest, and cases of his own choosing for the rest of his career. 

It was finally time for the trainee captains to take over, and then Xemnas began auditioning those who wished to replace him. Almost all of them came into his office trembling, as if they expected to be eaten. Even when word got out that he merely explained they had half a day to be the boss and then left to drink some tea, they still came in afraid. 

From the initial auditions, Xemnas was able to narrow things down to a pool of five. Some of the others had failed miserably, and in the case of one applicant from the ninth- of course the ninth, with all its troublemakers- hadn’t even made it through the half-day they were granted before the other leaders, who were still figuring out the concept of cooperation, united for the first time ever to tie him up and lock him in a closet. But more commonly the decisive failing points were over-aggression, spinelessness, and micromanaging. A few also proved to be unviable when they were too easily provoked by the current leaders, who were shadowing their protegee to see how they did. 

The remaining five were each given a week to lead. During the weeks when it wasn’t their turn, they were to stay at home and not receive any communication from within the gang for fairness’ sake. Just to be sure, they were put under guard and were not allowed to use phones or computers. Which would be rather boring for them, but they’d live. Xemnas’s generation certainly had. 

What no one was warned about was that the soon-to-be-bygone leaders all disappeared as soon as the first trial period started. Of course, disappeared was a relative term. They were all keeping watch in their own ways, out of sight but able to see how their trainees handled things. Furthermore, each week, they would stage some sort of disaster for the new leaders to handle. 

It went horribly. The leaders were prone to panic. They were hesitant. They mishandled things. They made mistakes. But at least there was no mutiny with someone trying to kill the stand-in leader and take over the gang as had happened to Xemnas, so things were going pretty good. And the new leaders were figuring things out in time. Like the way the new eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, and thirteenth leaders were able to pick up on enemy movements and think up a way to counter them. And the way the new third division leader came up with a new budget plan, and there was the network remodeling suggested by the sixth captain, and overall, the old leaders were pretty impressed. 

As for who did best, it was a tough decision. In the end, Xemnas had to give the first applicant a second week to lead since he suspected that the applicant had spent a lot of time unifying the other leaders, which had helped all the other applicants but had left them unable to do much else. This turned out to be a correct assumption, because the applicant successfully allied the gang with an old enemy that had been aligned against them under Xehanort, and managed to smooth things over with the police when a fight had broken out between a member of the fourth division and a rival gang member in a shopping mall. 

And so it was the end. Xemnas did stick around for another week or so to show both the members of the Yakuza 13 and rival gangs that the new leader had his support. He was pleasantly surprised that, while the others all left with barely a second glance (this was actually to try and prevent tears from falling and/or being seen) Xigbar stuck around. In fact, Xigbar was still there as he packed his things in a box so that his successor could come move into his office. Their office now. 

“You know Xigbar,” Xemnas said, feeling… sentimental maybe, “it’s been a good run.” 

“It sure has.” 

“I’m glad you’re here. Or at least, I think I am. You know how I am with these things.” 

“That I do.” Xigbar was being uncharacteristically quiet. Normally, Xigbar was loud and had plenty to say, but today, he seemed subdued. 

“I must say, I’m surprised you’d stay with me until the end like this,” Xemnas said. After all, Xigbar had been a mercenary to begin with, so shouldn't his loyalty be to money? 

“Well of course I would," Xigbar laughed. "You know I love you, man.” 

Xemnas froze and looked at Xigbar through his peripheral vision. He’d heard that some people said “I love you” casually, and Xigbar was very casual, but what if Xigbar meant something more? And judging by the stricken expression on Xigbar’s face, it was the latter. 

“I-I mean, it’s just- uh…” Xigbar stammered, then sighed heavily. “Look, sorry old man, but I’m gay. And maybe it’s a bit wrong of me, but that’s part of why I’ve stuck with you all this time. I know you don’t swing this way, I know things’ll never work out, but hey, you’re still my best friend. But if you want me to vanish, I’ll do that. It won’t be the first time.” 

Xigbar fell silent. Xemnas blinked several times, shocked at this revelation. Xigbar was gay? For him? He’d thought the man had better taste than that at least, and he’d never suspected he was gay. But then he’d never suspected Saix and Axel either, and people said they were a couple. 

“So, uh, I guess I should probably give you some space now. Until you figure out whether or not you can stand the idea of having a friend who is both gay and in love with you,” Xigbar said, and then before Xemnas could think of a response, he was gone, and Xemnas was alone. He told himself it was his belongings in the box that made the room suddenly seem so empty, but he wasn't so sure that was the truth. 

* * *

Sora was chopping an onion for Kairi when the phone rang. Onions always made Kairi cry, no matter what you did. She could cover her nose, wear goggles, or try whatever remedy you could recommend and still she’d tear up to the point that she couldn’t see. 

Kairi answered the phone, since she wouldn’t want things smelling like onion. He heard her greet Vanitas, and they exchanged idle chit chat until Sora finished the onion and washed his hands, and then the phone was handed off to him. 

“Hey Van, what’s up?” Sora asked. Usually he had to be the one to call Vanitas, or Ventus called and put Vanitas on. Van almost never called on his own. 

“Did you hear what our parents are doing?” Sora sighed. This couldn’t be anything good. It would mean a headache for uncle Eraqus, no doubt. 

“What is it now?” he asked heavily. 

“They’re quitting!” 

“Quitting what? Smoking? But not all of them are sm-” 

“No you mushbrain!" Vanitas interrupted. "They’re quitting the Yakuza 13! As in retiring! As in they won’t be gangsters anymore!” 

“What?!?” Sora almost dropped the phone in shock. 

“Yeah, that’s what I said!” 

“But are you sure?” Sora queried. 

“Definitely. I heard it from Ventus, who heard it from both Aqua and Uncle E. They’re actually doing it.” 

“But I just saw Roxas two days ago when I went to babysit Mickey and Ephemer for him, and he didn’t say anything!” 

“Ephemer doesn’t need a babysitter," Vanitas scoffed. "He’s like ten.” 

“He’s nine. And Mickey’s only six. They’re too young to be home alone.” 

“Psh. We managed just fine on our own when we were younger than that.” 

“When? The time we got kidnapped?” 

“Our parents probably just made that story up to make sure we behaved. I don’t remember it, and I bet you don’t either.” 

“You still haven’t given me any evidence of their retirement,” Sora reminded, rather than arguing further. 

“Whatever," Vanitas said, and then added in a faded voice as if he were speaking away from the phone, "Oh yuck why’d you get zucchini, you know I hate zucchini, Ven!” 

“Ven, make him eat lots of zucchini,” Sora called in case Ven might hear him. 

“Sora, shut up. You don’t like zucchini any more than I do.” 

“Actually, I do. I can at least eat zucchini bread, which is more than you do.” 

“Ven, make that into zucchini bread so I can prove to Sora that he’s a little bitch.” 

“Ven, make that into zucchini bread so we can prove that Vanitas is the pickier eater!” 

“Sora, you’re on speaker phone," Ventus's voice warned, "and both of you, I’m not making zucchini bread because I already have plans for this zucchini. And it won’t be something you have to eat Van so stop making faces.” 

“Hi Ven. Should I put you guys on speaker too so Kairi can chime in?” 

“Please don’t,” Kairi said. 

“Kairi says no so sorry if you wanted that,” Sora said. 

“Besides, Kairi already told me to tell you she said hi,” Vanitas said, presumably to Ven. 

“Tell her I said hi back. Nice talking to you Sora, but I’ve got to study a bit. Bye,” Ventus said. 

“Bye Ven,” Sora replied. 

“You’re not on speaker anymore, silly,” Vanitas sneered. 

“Oh," Sora said, then asked, "He’s still in vet school then?” 

“Yeah," Vanitas sighed. "He’s working really hard.” 

“You sound so in loooooove,” Sora teased. 

“I’m no worse than you talking about Kairi. You should hear how sappy your voice gets whenever she’s being discussed.” 

“Yeah, but I’ve always been the more emotional one. But anyways, our parents are really retiring?” Sora asked, getting back to the topic at hand. 

“Yup. They got replacements picked out and they’re working on putting ‘em in place.” 

“Wow.” 

“I know. Listen, I’d love to talk more and all, but I like to be around when Ven’s studying. He gets kinda weird every now and then. I think it has to do with that time when he stayed with Gramps. I keep asking him why he tortures himself this way, especially when he was so close to going into childcare, but he says it’s what he wants to do.” 

“Yeah, I get it. Love you Vanny.” 

“Love you too Sor.” 

* * *

The last thing they did was sell the house. Without Sora and Vanitas living there anymore, there was no point in keeping it, and it was theirs to sell as the deed was in Demyx’s name. And while Demyx could have lived there himself, he said that it didn’t feel right, since it had been their house, not his. 

They all showed up to pack everything up and also to say goodbye: the thirteen leaders plus Xion, Eraqus and his kids, and the twins. Slowly the house emptied, until it was just a house. The carpets were steam cleaned, the walls were washed and repainted, and soon all traces of the boys who had lived there and their fourteen parents were gone. 

Sora and Vanitas were the last to leave. Across the street, they could hear the radio on in Gene’s house, playing the oldies station he’d always loved. Next door to him, kids played on the lawn of a house that had once belonged to four college boys. Down the street Belle was helping Maurice go for a walk, and they were just passing the house where the twins’ old playmate Simba had grown up, and where his parents still lived. As Belle and Maurice passed, Mufasa waved and returned to raking leaves. 

The twins watched it all with tears in their eyes. For years this had been their home. They’d grown up here, in this house, among these neighbors. They’d left it already, but it had still been here to come back to. Now it was gone for good. 

Without a word, the twins each wrapped an arm around each other’s shoulders, and walked towards their cars. They separated and got in and sat for a moment, taking one last look before starting their engines and driving away. 

Gene watched them go. He’d always known it would happen, but he’d also always known that without them, this street would be different. He looked around at the “for sale” signs that had sprouted up and down the block as the Yakuza 13 vacated this street. Things were going to be a lot more boring from now on. He’d sure miss them. All of them. 

* * *

Before leaving the twins’ old house, Xemnas had asked Xigbar if they could talk. The two both drove to Xemnas’s house, and once they were inside, Xemnas poured Xigbar a drink out of pure habit. Xigbar accepted the glass, but didn’t drink at all. Sometimes alcohol messed things up even worse. Plus he still had to drive home and he didn’t want to risk being impaired. 

Xemnas poured himself a drink as well, but he too held onto the glass without raising it to his mouth. He wasn’t sure whether he wanted it or not, but at the moment, he wasn’t sure about a lot of things, and so he wanted the drink ready in case he decided to take it. 

“Look, not to be a pest or anything, but could you just get whatever you want to say over with? The pressure of waiting is a lot worse than anything I’ve seen in all my years, and you know I’ve seen some real shit,” Xigbar finally said. 

“I’m trying,” Xemnas replied. “It’s just… I am still trying to understand this. I have never seen you as more than a friend, never noticed that you are gay, and never considered the option that perhaps I myself am gay. And yet in light of your confession, these are thoughts that are now on my mind. I am uncertain of what this means, and of whether this is friendship or love. But I do know that if you leave I’ll never be able to sort this out, so I want you to stay. It is perhaps selfish of me, but I want to figure this out, and I want you to be here with me when I do.” 

“So you’re saying… that you think you might… reciprocate… my feelings. The feelings I’ve been concealing for the past 34 years,” Xigbar asked, his words coming in spurts. 

“You’ve felt that way since the beginning?” Xemnas asked, his eyes widening in surprise. 

“Yeah, I mean, well, you’re kinda my type," Xigbar said with a forced laugh. "All dark and broody and in over your head but stubbornly sticking to your guns, if you’ll pardon the pun.” 

“But why didn’t you say anything?” 

“Well first off, it’s you," Xigbar said, waving his full glass towards Xemnas. "You’re a little, er, emotionally dense. No offense. So it’d be hard to get through to you. But more importantly, you were dating Maleficent. Which means that at the start you were taken, and honor among crooks or whatever you call it says don’t take someone else’s girl or man. You do that, and you won’t ever have another friend. ‘Course you probably won’t survive more than a few days, but… Anyways, I also figured that meant you were straight, because yes there’s people like Saix who is bi and Vanny who is pan, but you didn’t really seem interested in guys and you were dating that… her, so I thought straight as an arrow, again pardoning the pun. And third because the last time I told someone I was gay, I got kicked out of the group that I’d been with since I was a kid. I told my mate, who was like a brother to me, that I didn’t find any of the girls he brought around attractive because I was interested in guys, and next thing I knew I was being given the royal treatment of traitors. It hurt, and not just the beating they gave me. Point is, in my experience, gays aren’t welcome.” 

“But aren’t Axel and Saix gay?” 

“Yeah, and Vanny, and Ven, but they’re different. They’re… younger, I guess." Xigbar looked rueful as he spoke. "People are more accepting nowadays, but by the time it became okay, it was already too late for me. People aren’t bothered by young gays, but old gays? We’re not supposed to exist.” 

“What utter nonsense," Xemnas deadpanned. "Even I can tell that what you just said is complete bullshit.” 

“Well then you tell me why people treat me that way!" Xigbar burst out, suddenly angry. "If they even THINK I’m gay, they’re revolted. If I admit it, they revile me. I couldn’t even attend the funeral of my mate because I knew that if I was seen within a mile of that graveyard, I’d be the next body found. Like, I wasn’t even interested in him, he was just the closest thing I had to family, and I had to watch them bury him through some freaking binoculars, feeling guilty because I could have saved him if I’d been there. Do you have any idea how much that hurts?” There were tears in Xigbar’s eyes. 

Xemnas hesitated, then reached out and gave his friend a tentative hug. 

“I’m sorry you had to go through that. But this time is different. Even if I don’t feel the same, I definitely don’t hate you for it.” 

Xigbar laughed. “Has anyone ever told you you give the worst hugs?” he asked. 

“I’ll have you know my adoptive mother said I gave great hugs," Xemnas said loftily, drawing himself up with pride before slouching. "But I suppose that it’s been so long that I’ve forgotten. That’s something I’ll have to work on. If you’ll stay, that is.” 

“Of course," Xigbar said, raising his glass as if in a toast. "After all, old man, I’m with you ‘til the end.” 

* * *

About two weeks after Xemnas had officially resigned, the former leaders of the Yakuza 13 got texts from him saying that the new leaders had sent out an emergency call for them all to come in. With some reluctance, the thirteen former gangsters made their way to their former headquarters and up to the meeting room. Whispers followed them as they went up there, and they saw some new faces that stared at them with awe. More than one of the bygone leaders found himself grumbling about “kids these days.” 

At the meeting room, they all had to stop themselves from taking their old seats clustered around the head of the table, and awkwardly settled at the other end of the table. But then the new leaders came in, and seemed to find it just as awkward to take over the chairs that had so recently belonged to them. In fact, most of the new leaders opted to stand. 

“O-okay everyone,” the new boss began. “I mean, ahem. Good afternoon. Thank you all for coming, as we know it must be quite inconvenient for you. We apologize for calling you in, but we had an urgent matter that needs to be addressed to you guys. And gal. Sorry Captain Larxene." 

“Former captain, and thanks for the inclusion. It’s that first time someone’s noticed that I don’t fit under the heading of ‘guys’,” Larxene replied. 

“So what’s this urgent matter of yours?” Saix asked. 

“Ah, yes. Right. That is- we- I mean the new leaders, your replacements, um… Anyways, we’d like your permission to use your names.” 

“Say what?” Demyx asked. 

“Well, you see-” 

“Oh for crying out loud. You take too long,” the new tenth captain said, taking over. “So, since you’ve all left we’ve been trying to handle things, and we’ve been doing alright, but we could do better. And we realized that part of the reason is we’re all unknown. We can say we’re from the Yakuza 13, but it doesn’t have the same effect as if one of your guys’s names gets used. So we thought maybe if we assumed your names, we’d get more work done.” 

“P-plus we wanted to kinda honor you guys, y’know?” the new second captain added. 

“Okay, but what names would _we_ use?” Vexen asked. 

“I am not going back to using my birth name,” Zexion snapped. 

“Regardless of real names or aliases- is that the correct plural for alias?- whatever. Regardless, we were thinking of using the names more like titles. Like, rather than So-and-so, captain of the whatever-eth division, it would be Luxord So-and-so kind of a deal,” the new head explained. 

“I guess that could work…” Saix murmured. 

“Please let us do this. I don’t want to be jinxed,” the thirteenth captain whimpered. 

“I thought that had died already!” Roxas exclaimed. 

“No sir," Roxas's former lieutenant replied. "We all just thought that you were the exception to the jinx, since you were the thirteenth leader of the thirteenth. And now the cycle will start over again, but maybe if I use your name I can cheat death a bit.” 

“Alright, fine,” Roxas sighed, shaking his head in resignation. 

“All in favor?” Xemnas said, raising a hand. Slowly, grudgingly, the rest of the hands raised as well. 

And thus the thirteen leaders of the Yakuza 13 went from infamous to legendary. The new Luxord quickly got to work spreading a rumor that the Yakuza 13 would never fall so long as the captains used the names of those who had come to be thought of as the “real 13.” 

* * *

Of course there were a few attempts on the lives of the former leaders by some old enemies, but they were still as formidable as ever, and they would always be under the umbrella of the gang’s protection, even if they were no longer part of it. But life settled down, and so did they. 

If anyone was surprised when Xigbar moved in with Xemnas, they had the good sense to keep quiet about it. A few of the others moved as well: Zexion and Aqua moved to a house to make room for their upcoming child, Lexaeus and Larxene did indeed buy that house they wanted to fix up, and Marluxia found a place with a larger yard so he could plant the garden of his dreams. One thing people did comment on was the fact that Vexen moved in with Marluxia. 

“I thought you two hated each other,” Xaldin said. 

“Just like you were able to learn to work with Demyx, I was able to adjust to working with Marluxia,” Vexen replied. 

“I suppose you being gay explains a lot,” Demyx said. 

“Demyx, we are not in a romantic relationship, not really, and it’s hardly gay if I identify as agender, asexual, and aromantic,” Marluxia responded. 

Eventually the commentary was silenced, and everyone had to admit that when they had get-togethers and Vexen brought food made with plants from Marluxia’s garden, it was pretty good. Besides, what did they care what kind of relationship those two had? They ought to be used to unusual arrangements by now. 

Overall, Sora and Vanitas weren’t affected very much by their parents’ retirement. They may not have been Yakuza 13 leaders anymore, but that didn’t change the fact that Sora and Vanitas still had 14 parents, who still wanted to celebrate holidays together, and have random family get-togethers, and do generally parental things like embarrass their boys. Besides, to the twins, their parents had always been parents first and gangsters second. 

It was a strange family they had, with lots of complicated relationships and unusual circumstances. But even with their parents no longer working together and the house they had grown up in sold, the twins knew they would always have a home with their parents, and that was what mattered most to them all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end. There will be a couple of epilogues posted on our [tumblr](https://omness-yamarik.tumblr.com/) (which is kinda a mess, sorry), probably by the end of the week but otherwise, that's the end.  
> We did want to take a moment to thank you for reading, especially if you are a long-term reader who has been following this series for a while. It's been over a year since we started posting this, with 73 chapters and over 265K words, so we salute you for reading all that. Also, thank you especially if you left kudos or comments- we do enjoy reading comments, even if we don't often respond because we are both very awkward.  
> And last, not that we really expect anyone to, but if people wanted to write things for this series (additional events you've imagined, alternate timelines/ships, whatever you please) that's cool with us. We had fun with this series, and don't mind if you do too.  
> Again, thanks for reading, and we hope you enjoyed. The end.


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